Wipro buys Japanese wireless design unit

Wipro Technologies, the global IT services arm of Wipro Ltd, said today that it was acquiring the wireless design subsidiary of Tokyo-based Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd to help it expand in Japan and east Asia.

Wipro, the country's third-biggest software exporter, will also set up a dedicated development centre for Oki, with which it had signed a strategic partnership agreement in the area of design services for the semiconductor market, Wipro said in a statement.

"As part of this partnership, Wipro has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Oki Techno Centre Singapore Pte Ltd (OTCS), including its own intellectual property rights, in an all-cash deal over a period of one year," it said.

The company did not disclose the cost of the acquisition. But market analysts estimated it would be in the region of $2.5 million (about Rs 10 crore).

This is Wipro's third acquisition this fiscal after it bought Unza and Infocrossing. The company has cash reserves of about $150 million (about Rs 600 crore).

Oki Techno Centre Singapore Pte Ltd (OTCS), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Oki Electric, has capabilities in radio frequency and baseband design.

The 40-member unit clocked a revenue of Singapore $8.8 million (about $6 million or Rs 24 crore) in the financial year ended March 31, 2007. The company has key customers in Japan in the product engineering space.

"The wireless communication integrated circuit marketplace today is demanding an integrated system for chip solutions, requiring expertise in the digital and radio frequency domain," said Ramesh Emani, head of Wipro's telecom and product engineering solutions division.

"The acquisition will strengthen our leadership in design services in the radio frequency and baseband technology space. It will also provide a solid base for addressing the large market in Japan and east Asia."

The development centre Wipro will set up for OKI will enable efficient utilisation of its design resource and enhance product development capabilities. It would also held OKI in designing semiconductor products.