Cognizant Tech on the prowl in US, Europe

New Jersey-based Cognizant Technology Solutions is looking to acquire a company in the US or Europe whose annual revenue is in the range of $40-50 million (Rs 185- 231 crore).

The ideal target, the company says, will be the one with consulting and domain capabilities in financial services, insurance, healthcare, pharma, telecom or media and entertainment.

"We look at growth through three dimensions "� newer services to existing customers, expanding our customer base by adding newer industries, and expanding into other geographies like continental Europe. Acquiring strategic customers across geographies will help us build businesses and maintain long-term partnerships," said Lakshmi Narayanan, president and chief executive officer, Congnizant.

Congnizant ended 2005 with $424 million (about Rs 1,959 crore) in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet, an increase of over $109 million (about Rs 504 crore) over the previous year.

Founded in 1994, the IT company has 11 development centres in India located in Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore. It has sales offices in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, London and Frankfurt. Of the 28,000 employees Congnizant has globally, over 21,000 are in India.

Narayanan told Business Standard that Cognizant would look at acquisitions for new capabilities, new markets and deeper domain skills.

The company had looked at small acquisitions and wrapped up six "tuck-under" (small and manageable) acquisitions in the past, which, he said, had been quite successful. Now, Narayanan said, the company felt comfortable acquiring and integrating bigger companies.