Rolta, the information technology firm focusing on defence and homeland security, is likely to strike two deals – one an acquisition and the other a partnership – according to sources familiar with the development.
That follows a dozen acquisitions across verticals like IT, defence, geospatial technology since 2007-2008.
Rolta is likely to bag a contract from a UK utility major to manage its IT infrastructure, and also close a deal for an exclusive partnership with the largest geospatial technology company in the world.
These businesses are a Rs50,000 crore + market, according to sources.
Kamal K Singh, chairman and MD of Rolta, refused to comment, saying Rolta doesn’t respond to speculation.
Rolta has added about 6-7% to its topline through past acquisitions.
“We are an IP-driven company, and thus, we typically acquire companies with 25-30 years experience in a particular area, which can help us to increase our IPs, as well as better more competent solutions,” he said.
“Typically, we allocate about $25-50 million in each year’s budget for these acquisitions. However, all our acquisitions are usually medium-sized companies, which are easier to integrate with Rolta.”
Rolta entered the domain of IT infrastructure with the acquisition of AdvizeX for $32 million in November.
AdvizeX’s domain knowledge played a part in Rolta winning a $31 million contract earlier this month from Memphis Light, Gas and Water for an Oracle ERP project, Singh said.
Rolta is expecting AdvizeX to add 7-8% to topline its June-year closing.
The next area of focus is on bettering the company’s core strength verticals – geospatial technology, defence and homeland security — through joint ventures and exclusive partnerships.
Incidentally, Rolta is one of four Indian companies in the running for a defence department contract for developing a ‘Tactical Communication System’.