Tech Mahindra to buy US-based Lightbridge Communications for USD 240 million

Tech Mahindra, the home-grown software services company said it would buy Virginia-based network services operator Lightbridge Communications for US $240 million in a bid to boost its presence in the United States.

The acquisition, which is expected to close by the fourth quarter of the current financial year, will add 20-30 new clients to Tech Mahindra, Chief Executive Officer CP Gurnani said on a call.

Gurnani also said that all of Lightbridge's 5,700 employees would join Tech Mahindra, taking the IT company's total headcount to about 1,00,000.

"We expect network services to be a major growth engine for our organisation," Tech Mahindra Executive Vice Chairman Vineet Nayyar said in a statement. As of now, the telecommunications business accounts for around 45 per cent of the company's revenue.

The Pune-based software services provider did not say how much its revenue would be boosted by the deal.

(Reuters)