Rewind 2024: Top tech M&A deals of the year

Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity in India's technology sector experienced a notable resurgence in 2024, recovering from a sharp decline in deal-making observed from mid-2022 to 2023. Major Indian IT firms, including Infosys, Wipro, and HCLTech, pursued acquisitions to enter niche sectors like Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), customer experience and engineering R&D, aiming for growth in a cautious global market with limited organic opportunities.

Cognizant's $1.3 billion acquisition of Belcan is the year's largest deal, followed by Infosys' $480 million purchase of in-tech (and its acquisition of InSemi, a semiconductor design firm, for $33.7 million), enhancing its AI and engineering capabilities. HCLTech's $225 million acquisition of CTG from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) aimed at strengthening its telecom expertise, while Wipro's $66 million investment for a 60% stake in Aggne Global would bolster its position in P&C insurance.

Although deal momentum dipped slightly after the first nine months, Wipro announced in December its acquisition of US-based Applied Value Technologies for $40 million to enhance application services.

Midcap firms also actively engaged in acquisitions this year. L&T Technology Services acquired Silicon Valley-based firm for $110 million, while Happiest Minds Technologies purchased PureSoftware for $94.5 million to enhance its banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, and life sciences space. 

Other notable deals announced this year include ITC Infotech's acquisition of Blazeclan for $58.12 million to improve its multi-cloud services, while Datamatics bought Dextara Digital, a Salesforce services provider, for $20.8 million. Firstsource Solutions, led by Sanjiv Goenka, snapped up UK-based customer experience firm Ascensos for $56 million. Coforge also announced the acquisition of the majority stake in Cigniti Technologies.

Experts like Phil Fersht of HFS Research predict increased M&A activity in the technology sector coming year. He believes that IT firms are enhancing their service offerings and profitability through acquisitions that provide immediate access to specialised talent, expertise, technologies, and strong client relationships.