Cognizant acquires UK-based management form PIPC

Leading Indian IT and BPO services vendor and consultancy provider Cognizant has acquired of The PIPC Group, a London-based international project management advisory firm early this week. Cognizant is of the view that acquiring the management company The PIPC Group will not only harmonize with its present project management and advisory facilities, but also enhance its aptitude to offer incorporated services in the areas of technology as well as business process outsourcing. According to Cognizant president and CEO Francisco D’Souza, the new acquisition will also enable the firm to increase its geographical reach to the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

While, the Chennai-based Indian IT and BPO services vendor was yet to reveal the details regarding the transaction, including the financial aspects, quoting a report in The Economic Times, a website says that the shareholders of The PIPC Group are expected to receive a preliminary imbursement of £23 million (approximately $34.33 million) for the sale. In addition, the deal also includes earn out provision for the shareholders depending on the performance targets of the firm in future.

The PIPC Group presently employs 200 professionals based at the company’s centers across the globe, especially in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. On the other hand, Cognizant has over 85,000 workforce based at the company’s 50 delivery hubs worldwide. In October 2009, Cognizant had acquired the exclusive outsourcing unit of UBS, a major Swiss bank and before that the company had purchased an analytics vendor MarketRX, basically providing services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industry in Gurgaon in India.

The London-based management firm’s services portfolio includes program management services as well as methods and tools to clients to enable them to transform their businesses. The firm’s avant-garde facilities comprise Project Health Diagnostic (PHD) tool and Project Management Office (PMO), a basic proficiency measurement means that has been set up in more than 800 commitments. These would comprise specific areas of specialization during the period subsequent to the merger and account for approximately 35 per cent of the company’s business. PIPC has a workforce of around 200 staff, based primarily in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US. Founded in 1992, the PIPC Group has served companies like the BBC, Malaysian Airlines and the banking group Santander to dispense business-wide transformation of projects according to specific businesses making use of the PHD tools and PMO.

Meanwhile The PIPC Group managing director Simon Rawling said that the cultural of two firms perfectly match each other and collectively the will be able to impel business renovation projects that merge first-rate consulting, information technology and business process outsourcing services leveraging their sophisticated project management presentations.