L&T Infotech plans to acquire manufacturing firm in US

Mumbai: L&T Infotech, the IT subsidiary of the engineering major Larsen & Toubro Ltd is in the process of acquiring a manufacturing firm in the US as the company aims to be a niche player in the manufacturing domain within a year.

 The acquisition, expected to cost around $300 million, would help L&T Infotech to further consolidate its position in the manufacturing segment, L&T said in a statement.

Manufacturing contributes around 65 per cent of L&T Infotech's total revenue, with the remaining 35 per cent coming from engineering, banking and financial segments.

"We have started scouting for a firm in the manufacturing vertical for acquisition. The deal is likely to be signed within a year," L&T Infotech chief executiveVijay K Magapu said.

Having set a target of recording USD one billion revenue by 2010, L&T Infotech is hopeful of clocking USD 415 million turnover by the end of this fiscal from USD 287 million in the last fiscal, he said.

Currently, L&T Infotech generates around two-thirds of its revenue from the US and the remaining from other parts of the world, including India.

L&T Infotech would also invest around Rs250 crore to expand its existing domestic centres, Magapu said.
 
While Larsen & Toubro had proposed to list L&T Infotech in the second half of the coming financial year, the proposed initial public offer (IPO) is likely to be deferred in the face of market instabilities, Magapu said.

"All the time we said we would do it when the conditions are right and donut think the time is right now," Magapu said, without giving any time frame.