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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		 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 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
a "clever move", making		 
 
...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%.