BWI: Wipro to Acquire SAIC’s Global Oil and Gas Information Technology Services Business

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: WIPRO
Friday, April 01, 2011 06:10 PM IST (12:40 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Energy companies, Information technology; Technology
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Wipro to Acquire SAIC's Global Oil and Gas Information Technology Services Business
Wipro Further Strengthens its Position as One of the Global Leading Information Technology Providers to the Oil & Gas Vertical

New York, United States and Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Friday, April 01, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Wipro Technologies, the global IT business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Global Oil and Gas Information Technology practice of the Commercial Business Services business unit of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) [NYSE: SAI], for an all cash consideration of approximately US$ 150 million, subject to adjustments.

SAIC's Global Oil and Gas Information Technology practice provides Consulting, System Integration and Outsourcing Services to Global Oil majors with significant domain capabilities in the areas of Digital Oil Field, Petro-technical Data Management and Petroleum Application Services addressing the upstream segment.

As a result of the transaction, approximately 1,450 employees are expected to transition to Wipro across North America, Europe, India and Middle East.

Wipro's Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities Strategic Business Unit (SBU) is a high-growth SBU and this acquisition will further strengthen Wipro's leadership position. IT spend in this sector is expected to grow as customers increasingly look to grow newer streams of revenues, optimize their operational cost and find better ways to become environmentally conscious.

Anand Padmanabhan, Senior Vice President, Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities SBU, Wipro Technologies said, "Oil & Gas companies are investing in the upstream business while looking at rationalizing cost through IT. The acquisition of SAIC's Global Oil & Gas Information Technology practice will strengthen Wipro's existing Energy business unit in becoming a long term strategic partner in our customer's transformation journey. We are happy to have the SAIC team on board. Their domain consultancy and competencies significantly enhances Wipro's capabilities in the Upstream Oil & Gas space and further strengthens Wipro's position as an end to end leader in servicing customers."

"We are excited at the prospect of joining a company that has such a strong, strategic focus in multi-national commercial IT services," said Rex Ballard, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SAIC's Commercial Business Services business unit. "Bringing our skills and client base to Wipro increases our combined market potential and positions us to capitalize on commercial business opportunities across the full breadth of the oil and gas industry. The combined organization will give clients access to an enhanced portfolio of technologies and solutions and provide employees with increased opportunities for career development."

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

About Wipro Technologies

Wipro Technologies, the global IT business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro Technologies delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro Technologies has 120,000 employees and clients across 54 countries.

For more information, please visit www.wipro.com

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

Media Contacts:

India:

Dirk Lewis
Wipro Technologies
+91- 7760983976
dirk.lewis@wipro.com

Purvika Anand
Gutenberg Communications
+91 9901134441
purvika@gutenbergpr.com

US:

Kathleen Ulrich
Wipro Technologies
+1 (732) 509-1337
kathleen.ulrich@wipro.com

Lavanya DJ
Gutenberg Communications
+1 (212).239.8740
lavanya@gutenbergpr.com

UK:

Rahul Kadavakolu
Wipro Technologies
+44 7920205496
rahul.kadavakolu@wipro.com

Olivia Benjamin
Gutenberg Communications
+44 7824997666
olivia@gutenbergpr.com



KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, ENERGY, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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