TCS acquires Citigroup Global Services for $505 million

India’s largest IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) beat business process outsourcing (BPO) majors like Genpact and IBM to acquire the back-office operations of Citigroup for $505 million (over Rs 2,400 crore).

Along with the sale, Citi also signed an agreement with TCS to provide process outsourcing services worth $2.5 billion (around Rs 12,000 crore) over the next nine-and-and-a-half years. Citi will be the first global bank to have outsourced its entire banking processes, including core banking operations, to a third party.

While TCS defended the valuations, particularly during the financial turmoil, analysts termed the acquisition expensive. “The valuation is certainly high. The $2.5-billion deal would translate into over Rs 1,250 crore of annualised revenues. With CGSL listing its operating profit at 23 per cent, the payback time may be around 11 years for the money invested,” said an analyst at a leading brokerage.

Even the company’s argument that the acquisition of CGSL gives an opportunity to cross-sell did not convince analysts. “That will take time and further investment from the company. So, the immediate impact is negligible,” said another analyst.

In terms of the acquisition valuations, TCS said that the Citi BPO has had a consistent revenue growth rate of 27 per cent and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margins are of the order of 20 per cent. The BPO has 12,472 employees, who will now join TCS along with the existing management team. The BPO will operate as an independent entity.

“We are confident that after the integration the EBITA margins of the BPO will be in the range of TCS’,” said the IT company’s COO and Executive director N Chandrasekaran.

Sanjay Nayar, CEO (South Asia) for Ctitbank, said: “We have been at this for quite some time. We have been able to consolidate all our businesses. We want to focus on our core operations. We will use the freed up capital for productive businesses.” This deal also means that TCS would be the single largest vendor for Citigroup.

“This acquisition is very strategic for TCS. This will also propel the TCS BPO business to a completely different level. With this Citigroup becomes our top client. This is the first time that core banking operations, which till date are in the realms of banking firms, will be outsourced. That allows us to take these services to other clients. More so, to the small- and medium-sized banks,” said TCS CEO and Managing Director S Ramadorai.

Chandrasekaran said that the tools created by CGSL would also be handy. “This, along with TCS financial products, will allow us to take our BPO platform strategy further. The revenues from the deal will accrue from the fourth quarter of 2008-09, or may be slightly delayed,” he added.

Axon prefers HCL Tech’s offer to Infosys

New Delhi, Oct. 2 In a move that places HCL Technologies ahead in the race for the acquisition of the Axon Group, the Board of the UK company on Thursday dropped its recommendation of Infosys’ 600 pence a share offer, and said it would unanimously recommend HCL’s 650 pence a share bid to its shareholders.

This assumes significance as the recommendation by the Axon board establishes HCL’s offer as a ‘friendly bid’ and not a ‘hostile’ takeover, sources said. Moreover, while the shareholders in any case would have opted for a higher bid, the recommendation also means that HCL now has the option to convert its offer into a scheme of arrangement.

Wait period lapses

The decision to switch allegiance and recommend the HCL bid comes just days after the 60-hour period stipulated in the pact between Axon and Infosys lapsed without the latter improvising its offer. This left Axon free to amend its endorsement of the Infosys offer to shareholders, in favour of HCL’s .

“Axon and HCL Technologies have enjoyed a long-standing relationship. The Board is pleased that HCL has recognised the quality of the Axon business and has announced its intention to make an offer. The value of the HCL offer is at a premium of 8.3 per cent, to the value of the Infosys offer,” an Axon statement said today.

Counter bid?

Mr V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of Infosys told Business Line, “We have nothing to say at this point. We are still evaluating our options.”

No clincher

The change of recommendation by the Axon Board does not imply that HCL Technologies has clinched the deal; any counter-bid at this stage can stretch the timelines. “In case the status quo remains in the absence of a counter-bid, the clock will not tick on the offer until HCL Technologies publishes a formal offer document and sends it to the shareholders. Thereafter, the company has 46 days to get shareholders’ nod and close the offer,” sources pointed out. Thethree founders of Axon hold 18 per cent stake, while another six per cent is with directors and staff

Ref : THE HINDU, Friday, Oct 03, 2008

IBM's Linux Wristwatch

One of the products showcased by IBM at the recently concluded Bang!inux conference was their Linux-based wrist watch. The software development for this watch is being done here in India. We were able to grab some of the developers working on this watch project and pump them for more information

IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'.
IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'. ‘

IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'.
The technical specifications for the wristwatch running Linux are as follows:
* Kernel: 2.2.1 * X11R6 for the GUI env. * Size: Watch:56mm wide x 48mm long x 12.25mm thick (2.20 inches x 1.89 inches x 0.48 inches) MotherBoard: 27.5 mm wide x 35.3 mm long (1.08 inches x 39 inches) * Weight: 44 Gms ( Approx. 1.5 ounces) * Touch sensitive display * 8MB Flash * 8MB DRAM * IrDA * Radio Frequency Wireless connectivity * Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery
The Linux watch was conceptualized at IBM's T. J. Watson research center where various groups are continuously exploring the various challenges that arise in the area of user interface design, power management, input devices, wireless communication, sensors and models for co-existences for pervasive devices and wearables. The story goes, that among them, a team of researchers with skills in hardware design, Operating Systems, displays, electronic and mechanical packaging, industrial design and user interface design, that was spread across multiple research IBM sites, worked together to develop the wrist watch that would eventually run Linux and X11. The team, led by Chandra Narayanaswami, worked relentlessly for about 18 months to accomplish this feat.
The wristwatch runs the Linux 2.2.1 kernel with the ARM patch from Ben Williamson. According to IBM, there are certain issues regarding the non-availability of this patch in the latest stable kernel release. The ARM processor that powers the watch runs at 19MHz, is RISC based and which according to estimates is almost equivalent to a 100 Mhz Pentium. The motherboard for the watch was fabricated at IBM's Japan research center. The kernel, which required some massive hacking including the shell that the watch runs, was `tweaked' at Big Blue's research center at Bangalore.

"The Grid" will revolutionize download speed in personal computers

LONDON: With the development of a network of supercomputers, known as the Grid, the speed at which information is downloaded to personal computers would be revolutionized, heralding the dawn of a new internet age. According to a report in the Times, the power of the Grid is such that downloading films should take only seconds, not hours, and processing music albums just a single second. Video-phone calls should also cost no more than a local call. More importantly, it should help to narrow the search for cures for diseases. The Grid, a network of 100,000 computers, is to be connected to the world's largest machine, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is designed for projects, such as large research and engineering jobs, which need to crunch huge quantities of data, but scientists believe it will eventually be used on home computers. The Grid allows scientists at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, to get access to the unemployed processing power of thousands of computers in 33 countries to deal with the data created by the LHC. Scientists at CERN, where the world wide web was invented, created the Grid because they realized that a single computer would not be able to cope with the amount of data the LHC is expected to produce each year - 15 petabytes, or 15 million gigabytes, which would fill 20 million CDs. According to Dr Bob Jones, a CERN scientist, "The (world wide) web allows you to access information on other computers. What the Grid allows you to do is not only access the information, but make use of their computing resources and power." Jones said that users would be able to tap into massive amounts of processing power, but the source of the power would change, depending on availability. Processing tasks will be distributed between 11 gateway computer centres in ten countries, including Britain, which will share them out between more than 140 sites. One of the first jobs the Grid will tackle is handling the raw data for CERN's experiments into finding proof of the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle. Its uses, however, extend well beyond particle physics and it has already been used on a smaller scale in research into diseases such as malaria and bird flu. "The Grid cannot find a cure for cancer, but what it can do is make it quicker," said Dr Jones, explaining that what might have taken a decade could now be done in weeks. "With the Grid, scientists could run hundreds of thousands of simulations to create a shortlist of the drugs that are most likely to offer the potential for a cure," he added.

Interview with Warren Buffet

For those who don't know Warren Buffet,a brief introduction:

Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist.He is regarded as one of the world's greatest investors and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.With an estimated net worth of around US$62 billion,he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world as of February 11, 2008.

Often called the "Oracle of Omaha,"Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.His 2006 annual salary was about $100,000, which is small compared to senior executive remuneration in other comparable companies.When he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire's funds on a business jet in 1989, he jokingly named it "The Indefensible" because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs.He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000.

Buffett is also a noted philanthropist.In 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.He has donated around $35 billion to charity.In 2007, he was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in The World.He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College.


I Like him very much,Not because of his wealth,but his simplicity & attitude.
In this post im going to post the highlights of his one hour interview with CNBC.
After reading this one,i hope everyone will understand why he is the World's Richest Man..

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules:
Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money.
Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.

8. Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.


His advice to youngsters: "Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:

A. Money doesn't create man but it is the man who created money.

B. Live your life as simple as you are.

C. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what makes you feel good.

D. Don't go on brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.

E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on things that you really need.

F. After all it's your life, then why give others the chance to rule your life."

Intel unveils six-core microprocessor

Bangalore, Sept. 16 Chipmaker Intel Corp launched its first 6-core x86 microprocessor, which is also the first microprocessor to be designed entirely in India.

The company said the new Intel Xeon 7400 series processor has up to six processing cores per chip, 16 MB of shared cache memory and 1.9 billion transistors.

Platforms based on these processors can scale up to 16 processor “sockets” to deliver servers with up to 96 processing cores inside, offering scalability, ample computing threads and extensive memory resources, Intel said.

“This new processor series helps IT manage increasingly complex enterprise server environments, providing a great opportunity to boost the scalable performance of multi-threaded applications within a stable platform infrastructure,” said Mr R. Ravichandran, Director, Sales, Intel South Asia.

The product has been designed by Intel’s India team including front-end design, pre-silicon logic validation and the back-end design, the company said.

Mr Praveen Vishakantaiah, President, Intel India, said, “The quality of available talent, technology ecosystem and business potential are factors which make India a strategic business site for Intel.” We have achieved a considerable degree of expertise in product design, he added.

Around 200-300 people from the India team have worked on this project, said Mr Vishakantaiah. From start to launch, the project has been completed in two years, he added.

Based on Intel’s 45nm high-k process technology, the new servers deliver almost 50 per cent better performance in some cases, and up to 10 per cent reduction in platform power, the company said. Intel said the new processor is compatible with Intel’s existing Xeon 7300 series platforms and the Intel 7300 chipset with memory capacity up to 256 GB, allowing IT departments to quickly deploy the new processor into an existing platform infrastructure.

Intel India has also contributed to the development of other Intel products like the Napa, Santa Rosa and Montevina mobile platforms and the Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 and Intel Core Extreme quad-core processor families.

The Bangalore-based Intel India Development Centre employees about 2,500 people (as of 2007) and Intel’s investments in India to date have been over $1.7 billion, the company said.

Ref : Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications, Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008

Gates regains richest title from Buffett

Software czar Bill Gates has regained his position as America's richest person with a networth of $57 billion after losing this place for a few months to his friend and legendary investor Warren Buffett.

In its latest list of the 400 Richest Americans, US business magazine Forbes has ranked Bill Gates on the top, followed by Buffett at the second position with a networth of $ 50 billion.

The last list of the world's richest billionaires, published in March this year, Forbes had ranked Buffett on the top with a networth of 62 billion dollars, followed by Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu at the second and Gates at the third positions with fortunes of $ 60 billion and $58 billion respectively.

While Slim has not been included in the latest list for being a Mexican citizen, both Gates and Buffett have seen their networth taking a dip from the worldwide list. However, the fall is much larger for Buffett at $12 billion compared to $1 billion for Gates. Reuters

Gates and Buffett are followed by Oracle's Larry Ellison ($ 27 billion), Jim Walton ($ 23.4 billion).

Ref: FinancialExpress, Sep 19, 2008.

Google among top ten brands in the world

SYDNEY: Internet search engine "Google" has jumped ten spots to reach at number 10 in the list of the "Best Global Brands 2008". Google, which has built on its dominance in internet searches to expand into software, video, mapping and web browsing, was "the undisputed king of the internet world", and its brand value had shot up by 43 per cent, from 21.9 billion dollars to 31.5 billion dollars, said a report in news.com.au. According to the report, the annual study on the hottest brands in the world showed that tech companies put on the strongest showing, financial companies were the weakest, in. Besides Google, Apple was the second brand which was the biggest mover in Interbrand's "definitive" 2008 Best Global Brands. Apple jumped 9 spots to 24. To qualify for inclusion in the Best Global Brands 2008 list, each brand must derive at least a third of its earnings outside its home country, be recognisable outside of its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data. Coca-Cola took the top spot for the eighth year in a row thanks to its famous ad campaigns and knack for reinvention. IBM pushed ahead of Microsoft for the first change to the top four since at least 2001. GE held onto fourth position.

The top ten brands, according to the "Best Global Brands 2008" list are:

1. Coca-Cola

2. IBM

3. Microsoft

4. GE

5. Nokia

6. Toyota

7. Intel

8. McDonald's

9. Disney

10. Google

Ref:-Indiatimes,19 sep 08.