Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
December 23, 2008
Bangalore, India and New York, USA Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), and Citigroup Inc . (Citi), the leading global financial services company, today announced that they have reached an agreement for Wipro to acquire Citi Technology Services Ltd., the India-based captive provider of information technology services and solutions to Citi entities worldwide, for an all cash consideration of approximately $127 million. As part of the transaction, Wipro and Citi will sign a Master Services Agreement for the delivery of Technology Infrastructure Services (TIS) and Application Development and Maintenance (ADM) services for a period of six years. The agreement provides for the delivery of at least $500 million in service revenues over the period of the contract.
Based in Mumbai and Chennai, Citi Technology Services provides IT services to Citi and its affiliates around the world. Citi Technology Services has grown tremendously since its inception in 2005, and today has approximately 1,650 employees trained in Citi processes and technologies, servicing Citi businesses in more than 32 countries. Citi Technology Services' revenues are expected to be approximately $80 million in CY2008. Apart from strong competencies in TIS, Citi Technology Services has expertise in ADM for Cards, Capital Markets and Corporate Banking .
This transaction strengthens Wipro's existing relationship with Citi with a long-term agreement for Wipro to deliver TIS and domain -led ADM services to all Citi business segments.
Girish S. Paranjpe, Jt CEO, IT business and Member of the Board, Wipro said, "Citi has played a pioneering role in leveraging technology for banking. We are pleased that our domain expertise and infrastructure management capabilities positioned us as their partner of choice. This posit ion has further strengthened with this strategic transaction. We are delighted to welcome the employees of Citi Technology Services into the Wipro family."
Don Callahan, Chief Administrative Officer, Citi said , "This sale was the result of a thorough process to ensure we were partnering with the right company for our businesses and our clients . Wipro, with its wide range of services, extensive experience and broad global presence can play a significant role in meeting Citi's objectives of productivity improvement, while our Citi Technology Services employees will join a larger information technology organization with additional third party growth opportunities. This transaction is consistent with our efforts to improve our operating leverage while we focus on our core banking competencies."
Marty Lippert, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Citi said, "This partnership enables Citi to leverage Wipro's expertise in information technology services where we have significant plans for driving higher efficiencies by leveraging the Global Delivery Model."
Jagdish Rao, Global Technology Head, Citi, added, "Wipro brings the maturity of processes and skilled management to help us build upon the success we have had with Citi Technology Services in the Infrastructure Management space ."
Soumitro Ghosh, Sr Vice President, Finance Solutions, Wipro, said, "Citi Technology Services team's expertise in addressing the risk and compliance issues for banking industry positions us well to offer similar scale and complexity of services to other leading banks in US and Europe. We are confident that the skillsets we have acquired will enhance our capabilities to compete for more TIS business in the financial services industry in general and Citi in particular."
The transaction is expected to be closed by March 2009, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors. More information about these factors is contained in Citigroup's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wipro
Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified IT Services organization globally. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development centers. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, Information Systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application development and maintenance services to corporations globally.
In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services. Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro's ADS' are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange - Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit our websites at www.wipro.com http://www.wiprocorporate.com