IT firm Happiest Minds scouts for acquisitions

After four years of organic growth, Bengaluru-based IT firm Happiest Minds is scouting for acquisitions in areas like IoT to rev up its revenues.
Founded by industry veteran and former Mindtree Chairman Ashok Soota in 2011, Happiest Minds has a revenue run rate of USD 75 million.
"So far, 100 per cent of our revenue is organic, but we will do some small acquisitions. We are reasonably close to one Indian IoT company, hopefully we will be able to close it this quarter. We have a couple of other targets in fairly advanced stages," he told PTI.
Soota added that these will be up to USD 10 million in size as the company wants to utilise its own cash for acquisitions.

Happiest Minds, which hit profitability last year, is aiming to become the fastest IT services firm to reach USD 100 million in revenues. It has 2,200 employees.
Internet of Things or IoT refers to microprocessor and sensor fitted gadgets or 'things' within a network talking to each other, swapping real-time data and information to perform specific actions.

Emphasising that the company is on track to meet its targets, Soota said the macroeconomic conditions affected the pace of growth, which is "fast" but could have been better.
"We should get there...We have three years in terms of our commitment before we go public and I would say we are pretty much on track...(the pace of growth) is fast if not faster but that is because markets have slowed down.

"Although we are growing at thrice the rate of Indian IT industry but that is not good enough for us given our size," he
said.
The digital transformation story has played out well for the company and it is doing "particularly well" in certain areas, he added.
"One is the product engineering space because everybody now wants to create platforms and so, we addressed that business by creating digital platforms for our customers. Then is infrastructure support and security...And the third is the new upcoming disruptive technology getting a lot of momentum which is IoT," he said.
Talking about the proposed work visa clampdown in the US, Soota said the development brings in opportunity as well.

"Anytime they have made a change, Indian companies have found a way out and maybe what this will do is reduce dependence on visas. Also, Indian companies should give emphasis on product development so that we can go up in the value chain," he added.
Happiest Minds gets about 70 per cent of its business from the US, around 20 per cent from the UK and Europe and 10 per cent from India.
"We have entered into the Middle East and Australia, where we are beginning to get good traction but those numbers will begin to come in the next financial year," he said.