Narayan AmmachchiAmerican outsourcing firm HTC Global has finally acquired the troubled IT consulting firm Ciber, outbidding French BPO giant Capgemini in an auction overseen by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In a court filing Thursday, Ciber said HTC’s bid had been approved by the court. HTC offered $42 million more than Capgemini, agreeing to acquire substantially all of Ciber’s business assets in North America and India.
Ciber has all but shut down its European operations, but its large American clients were still the greatest attractions for the bidders. Ciber’s clients include some of the top firms in the North American automotive, telecommunications, and media sectors.
Reports say the acquisition will increase HTC’s workforce by around 2,000 consultants in the United States and 1,000 in India. Before HTC’s winning bid, Capgemini had expected to close an acquisition of Ciber by the end of June.
Founded in 1974, Ciber was once among the top IT services firms in the Western market. At its peak, it had more than 8,600 employees. But in 2014, it suddenly found demand for its services decline all across Europe. Soon, it began to slash employees and sell off business units.
Based in Troy, Michigan, HTC Global provides digital transformation, data management and analytics, ERP, and application management services. In the court papers, HTC said its business is similar to that of Ciber’s.
HTC is run by India-born IT engineer Madhava Reddy, whose dream is to increase the company’s revenue to $1 billion by 2020.
The company gained a wider foothold in the U.S. IT services market when it acquired CareTech solutions in 2014. The acquisition of Ciber will cement its position further, paving the way to explore far more lucrative IT contracts in America.
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