HCL acquires IT consulting company in Germany

IT firm HCL Technologies and Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank eG (apoBank) - the largest cooperative primary bank in Germany - have signed an agreement to acquire IT consulting company Gesellschaft für Banksysteme GmbH (gbs).

Post-closing, HCL Technologies will own 51% while apoBank will own 49% stake of gbs, a statement said.

The total purchase price is €99,000 (about ₹84.4 lakh). The transaction is expected to close in January 2022, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, it added. apoBank is currently a 10% shareholder and is increasing its stake in gbs from 10% to 49%, it said.

"With this acquisition, the company (HCL Technologies) would get access to German Co-operative banking sector which has about 30% retail funds under management in Germany, augment local financial services IT expertise, and enhance HCL's digital transformation capabilities," a regulatory filing said.

The company will also be strategic partner of apoBank to deliver IT services leveraging domain strength, it added.

This collaboration is in line with HCL Technologies' investments in a local delivery model supported by a highly skilled German workforce. Revenue of gbs for CY21 is expected to be €4.1 million. It has 60 employees.

“Germany is one of the largest economies in Europe and is, therefore, a strategic region for HCL. We're excited to welcome gbs to HCL and look forward to playing a significant role in shaping the digital transformation journey and providing next-generation services to our German clients leveraging Fenix 2.0 (HCL's digital transformation framework)," Sudip Lahiri, Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Services (Europe) at HCL Technologies, said.

There's a great alignment between both organisations and together with gbs, HCL will further augment expertise in the financial services portfolio which will expand footprint in the region, he added.

“HCL's innovative delivery models and financial services expertise, along with gbs' knowledge of the cooperative banking sector, local IT and regulatory requirements is a winning combination," Johannes Kermer, Divisional Board Member for IT and Operations at apoBank.

Martin Beyer, Board Spokesman and Head of Corporate Development at Atruvia, said gbs will continue to be part of the IT ecosystem to service the cooperative banking sector and will support and collaborate with Atruvia to service our joint clients.

HCL Technologies has eight offices in Germany, including its regional headquarters in Eschborn. It has more than 1,800 employees serving 18 of DAX 40 companies. HCL has banking innovation centre in Eschborn, and an upcoming fintech lab in Berlin.