Printable Edition Click Here  :  Subscribe   :   Page  4  : News   :  November 2006 
  Go to page:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16           Previous Page      Next Page
Molten targets Asia with Hong Kong office
 
 Molten has opened a new
office in Hong Kong, to
serve both existing and
targeted new clients in
Asia. Molten’s practice
in Asia will come under
the direction of Stephen
Bingle, who joins Molten
as general director.
   The Hong Kong office
is a significant
strategic development as
Molten continues to grow
a global consulting
practice, focusing on
emerging markets. The		 
 firm already has offices
in Moscow, Bahrain and
Abu Dhabi, with its head
office in London.
   Molten’s Hong Kong
office will be the hub
for its Asian
operations, as it
initially seeks to
establish relationships
with financial services,
energy and telecoms
clients in Hong Kong,
China and Singapore.
   Irene Molodtsov,
Molten co-founder and		 
 joint managing director,
said: “Asia is at the
top of the agenda for
most of our existing
international clients.
Molten can add
significant value to
clients in the region
who face challenges in
managing complex change
programmes
successfully.”
   Bingle brings
extensive experience of
consulting in the region
to his new role as		 
 general director of
Molten Asia. He has
worked in Asia since
1982, most recently with
Sybase Inc, where he was
director, business
development Asia
Pacific. Prior to
joining Sybase he was a
strategic change partner
in PWC’s East Asia
consulting practice. He
has also worked with
KPMG, AT&T and HSBC.
   Bingle said: “Molten
operates in an uncrowded		 
 space between the
strategy houses and the
system integrators to
deliver complex change.
With the large number of
multinationals who have
chosen Hong Kong as
their regional
headquarters and
Molten’s reputation for
excellence, we are going
to be busy from day
one.”
  
   		 
 
Capgemini boosts Indian presence with Kanbay acquisition
 
 Capgemini has entered
into a definitive merger
agreement with IT
services firm Kanbay,
which will see it
acquire the latter in a
transaction valued at
$1.3bn.
   Under the agreement,
Capgemini will pay $29
in cash for each Kanbay
share. The transaction,
expected to close by
early 2007, is subject
to Kanbay shareholder
and regulatory approval
and other closing
conditions.
   Capgemini CEO Paul
Hermelin said the		 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a "clever move", making
Capgemini a "significant
player in India",
pulling "well ahead of
its European peers in
offshore provision".
   The combined company
would have a headcount
of 12,000 employees in
India by 2006-end, an
89% increase on the last
quarter. The Kanbay
acquisition is also
projected to make
Capgemini a leader in
the Financial Services
sector, which accounts
for 22% of the global IT
market.
   Capgemini hopes that		 
 the proposed merger will
create a multinational
behemoth with a
workforce of about
35,000 employees in
India by 2010,
representing about 30%
of the global workforce
of over 90,000
employees.
   Currently, the total
staff employed by the
expanded company is
around 72,000, with
Indian representing 16%
of the total, which puts
Capgemini ahead of IBM
(11%), Accenture (11%)
and Electronic Data
Systems (8%) in terms of		 
 Indian headcount
percentage.
   The company would
become the third largest
in terms of the total
number of employees in
the country after IBM
(20,000) and Accenture
(12,500), excluding the
employees in their BPO
operations.
   The acquisition is
estimated to have a
positive impact on the
company's earnings per
share. The anticipated
earnings per share
accretion are in excess
of 5% in 2007 and 10% in
2008. 		 
 acquisition supports the
company's growth
strategy and
"significantly enhances"
its banking, financial
services and insurance
practice particularly in
India and North America.
   In a research note,
Ovum analysts Douglas
Hayward and Dominique
Raviart said the deal is		 
 
...and reports healthy Q3 results
 
 Alongside the
announcement of its
acquisition of Kanbay,
Capgemini has posted an
early release of its
revenue figures for the
third quarter.
   The firm reported
consolidated revenue
figures for the third
quarter 2006 of €1,881m
against €1,674m for the
third quarter 2005, an
organic growth of 13.5%.		 
    UK & Ireland led in
growth figures, posting
a 29.9% increase in
revenues. Europe and
Asia Pacific, as a whole
saw 15.4% growth. In
North America, revenues
rose by 5.4%, benefiting
from a return to growth
of Outsourcing Services
and continued growth in
the other business
lines.
   The strongest growth		 
 was recorded in
Outsourcing Services
(+20%) which benefited
from the ramp-up of new
contracts, as well as
additional projects on
existing contracts. The
other disciplines grew
by 9.4%.
   Compared to the
previous quarter (second
quarter 2006), group
revenue was down by 1.9%
at constant rates and		 
 perimeter and by 1.8% at
current rates and
perimeter, with the
momentum of the
operations compensating
in part for the
historical negative
seasonality effect.
   Bookings recorded for
the third quarter 2006
amounted to €1,523m, a
rise of nearly 20% over
the same quarter 2005
(€1,273m). They were		 
 especially strong for
Outsourcing, but were
also up by 17.2% for
Technology Services,
Local Professional
Services and Consulting
Services, whose
book-to-bill ratio is
slightly over 100%.
   		 
  Consulting Times | Page 4 Previous Page     Next Page