Spice has further enhanced its capabilities in the Mobile Internet space by the acquisitions in Malaysia (BeoWorld) and Indonesia (MMS) and is very well placed for path breaking mobile internet services with its strategic tie-up with world’s biggest chipset company MediaTek of Taiwan.

Features

- Widget based design enabling customization
- New services can be added in a matter of hours
- Maximizes device capabilities
- Optimized for low end devices
- Multilingual support

Spice Gang empowers the user via his mobile phone to selectively subscribe and discover various infotainment & entertainment services. The bouquet of services range from, Jokes, Greeting cards, News, Songs Cricket scores and much more. Premium content is also available from Coke Studio, Hungama, and many more premium brands thus showcasing authenticated content. Unlike other products Spice Gang gives user the freedom to choose her favorite content from the provided options and customize the home screen, making it more of a PULL product rather than PUSH , hence being non intrusive.

Spice Gang has notched up impressive numbers with monthly page views of 20 million. With around 15,000 users joining the gang on daily basis, Spice Gang content downloads stand at 1 Million per month.

Commenting on this, Mr. Saket Agarwal (Global CEO – Services) said,
“With the mobile internet ramping up faster than the desktop internet we at Spice believe in the futuristic capabilities of the ecosystem which is the reflection of our mobile internet strategy. Spice Gang is a stepping stone in that direction providing insights and opening the window of opportunities.”

Looking at the reception in the Indian market, plans are underway to launch the portal for South Asian markets. Riding on the strong Spice foot hold in i2i markets, discussions are underway for partnerships at different levels.

Features such as payment options (will be made available shortly) would enable the developer community to monetize their applications as well as widgets on the portal.

SALE OF VODAFONE’S 24.4% STAKE IN POLKOMTEL

30 June 2011, Vodafone¹ today agreed to sell its entire 24.4% interest in Polkomtel – a leading telecommunications operator in Poland – to Spartan Capital Holdings SP. z o.o, an investment vehicle controlled by Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, for a cash consideration of approximately €920 million (£815 million/ PLN 3.7bn ²) before tax and transaction costs.

The disposal underpins Vodafone’s strategy to realise value from its non-controlled assets. Net proceeds from the sale of Vodafone’s stake will be used to reduce its net debt.

This transaction is part of an agreement between all of the shareholders of Polkomtel to sell their stakes to Spartan Capital Holdings SP. z o.o. The total consideration implies an enterprise value of €4.5bn (£4.0bn / PLN 18.1bn ²) and represents a multiple of 6.4x EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2010. The transaction is subject to Polish competition authority approval and is expected to complete in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011.

For further information:

Vodafone Group

About Vodafone

Vodafone is one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies by revenue with approximately 371 million customers in its controlled and jointly controlled markets as at 31 March 2011. Vodafone currently has equity interests in over 30 countries across five continents and more than 40 partner networks worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com.

Notes

¹ The sellers are Vodafone Americas Inc. and Vodafone International Holdings B.V., wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Vodafone Group.

² At an exchange rate of PLN/EUR of 4.0 and PLN/GBP of 4.5.

Lulu Bridges, Director

Tavistock Communications

131 Finsbury Pavement

London, EC2A 1NT

Tel: +44 20 7920 3150

Mob: +44 7831 170 364

Web: www.tavistock.co.uk

The latest reports from leading analysts highlight the growing demand of smart-phones and usage of mobile apps. It is estimated that out of 4 billion mobile phones currently in use 1.08 billion are smart phones. In the coming year the share will increase significantly creating a huge demand for mobile applications. e-Zest aspired to leverage the potential of the emerging mobile application market through a quick ramp up of its mobile development team. Maestro Mobile Services, a young mobile application development company based in Pune, had the potential to build synergy through shared vision and values.

Nikunj Natu – Founder and CEO of Maestro Mobile Services averred, “We are highly skilled in mobile application development and because of that we could develop many multi-platform products, enterprise mobile applications and mobile websites for our customers in relatively short period of time. Our ability to apply new technologies (such as HTML5) and cross-platform frameworks (Rhodes and Titanium) to rapidly deliver complex mobile applications has been our main differentiator. While growing we felt the need for external support that could offer us bigger projects and better project management skillset. We found that support in the form of e-Zest and we are very happy to be part of e-Zest.”

e-Zest is confident about tapping the potential of mobile applications with Maestro Mobile Services augmenting e-Zest’s mobile development offerings. Maestro Mobile Services’ broad skillset in mobile development has resulted in a horizontal operations expansion for e-Zest. Nikunj Natu is going to head e-Zest’s mobile application development team.

“Since we were already providing mobile development services as part of our offering, we have had an opportunity to understand the market scope and operational challenges. We found Maestro Mobile Services to be a natural extension to our development portfolio as we know them through our past engagements and they fit well with our aggressive growth plan. Their management and development teams are equally zealous. The integration of Maestro Mobile Services’ operations with e-Zest’s CMMI level 3 processes will help us create a space in this rapidly growing mobile application development services category. I welcome Maestro Mobile Services to our family”, said Devendra Deshmukh, Founder and Director – e-Zest Solutions, while commenting on the acquisition.

About e-Zest Solutions Ltd:

e-Zest is an SEI-CMMi Level-3 & ISO 9001:2008 certified Product Engineering and Software Development Company, having special expertise in emerging technologies such as Cloud, SaaS, Business Intelligence and Mobility. For over a decade, it has been serving clients in more than eight industries across the globe with over 200 software professionals on board. e-Zest is technology partner with Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Intel, Palm, and Citrix.
e-Zest is also a member of various industry associations like NASSCOM, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and MCCIA. It is a 100% export-oriented unit (EOU), registered with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), and has two subsidiary offices viz. e-Zest (UK) Ltd. at London UK and e-Zest Inc. at Chicago, USA.

Evolva plans to acquire its R&D partner Abunda Nutrition, Inc. Evolva and San Francisco-based Abunda have collaborated on the development of Abunda’s next-generation nutritional ingredients since 2009. One part of this collaboration has focused on advancing highly purified forms of the natural high intensity sweetener Stevia, produced via fermentation in yeast. This process bypasses the complex logistics associated with the traditional cultivation, processing and refining of Stevia plants, and allows pure Stevia components to be produced.

The value of the global sweetener market is currently estimated at USD $70 billion, with sugar the dominant product. Within this market, Stevia-based sweeteners are the fastest growing segment, with demand driven in part because Stevia extracts have 200-300 times the sweetness of sugar, but also because of increasing consumer demand for low-carbohydrate-low-sugar for health, wellness, and performance products. By enabling the introduction of new sweetener products with compelling health, taste and other benefits for consumers, fermentation-derived Stevia can potentially take an important part of the overall sweetener market.

In addition to Stevia, Evolva will obtain full ownership of certain additional development-stage compounds with relevance in cardiovascular health and other nutrition sectors. Clinical nutrition trials are being conducted on selected compounds.

Under the terms of the proposed merger, Evolva will acquire 100% of the share capital of Abunda in return for 25 million Evolva shares (12.9% of Evolva’s share capital post transaction, fully diluted). If certain value-creating milestones are achieved in the 19 months after closing, Abunda shareholders are entitled to receive up to an additional 12 million shares and, for three years afterward, a low-teen percentage share of cash returns from the Abunda assets. Abunda brings sufficient cash for the development its product portfolio through year-end 2012, and as such the transaction does not affect Evolva’s cash runway. The intended transaction would increase Evolva’s expected cash outflow in 2011 from CHF 20m to CHF 22m (2010: CHF 18.1m).

The terms of the transaction have been approved by the Boards of both companies. The transaction is subject to approval of the required capital increase by Evolva’s shareholders and is expected to close in late Q2 or early Q3 2011.

For more information kindly visit our website www.evolva.com

LONDON, UK – Jan. 5, 2011 – Hitachi Consulting, a recognised leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions, announced today it has acquired Sierra Atlantic, a leader in offshore enterprise applications and outsourced product development. The acquisition will significantly expand Hitachi Consulting’s footprint with the addition of offshore Global Development Centres in Hyderabad, India, and Guangzhou, China, along with a best-in-class global delivery model. It will also bring expanded capabilities to Hitachi Consulting’s Oracle business.

Founded in 1993, Sierra Atlantic is a leader in offshore IT outsourcing with approximately 2400 employees worldwide. The company’s headquarters is located in Newark, California, and it maintains operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. With approximately 200 customers across the Fortune 1000 and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) segments, Sierra Atlantic specialises in providing a full portfolio of enterprise application implementation and management services to customers – using Oracle, PeopleSoft, Siebel, Microsoft and Agile – in the discrete and process manufacturing, life sciences, financial services and retail industries. It also provides software development, testing and support services to world-class software companies.

“Hitachi Consulting is committed to aggressively expanding our global business through organic growth as well as large-scale and market-specific acquisitions,” said Phil Parr, President and CEO of Hitachi Consulting. “This very strategic acquisition will increase the depth and breadth of our solutions portfolio to further position Hitachi Consulting as a top-tier IT professional services company. Our companies share some very strong synergies because our industry focus and geographies are well-aligned. Even more significantly, Sierra Atlantic brings very valuable strengths to the table that will allow us to provide our customers with global end-to-end lifecycle support. ”

“Sierra Atlantic is extremely pleased to join a company with the outstanding caliber and deep expertise that Hitachi Consulting holds. With its global brand and rich corporate culture, Hitachi Consulting will make a great home for our employees,” said Raju Reddy, Chairman and CEO of Sierra Atlantic. “We look forward to integrating our experience and business models into a winning combination to provide our existing customers with richer capabilities and help drive new growth.”

Hitachi Consulting already maintains a depth of experience and leadership as an Oracle solution provider with “Partner of the Year” awards in seven of the last nine years. Sierra Atlantic brings a large pool of certified Oracle experts and more than 14 years of experience in providing end-to-end Oracle E-Business Suite solutions including implementations, upgrades, and application management services. The company’s Oracle managed services cover a wide range of application management services and infrastructure. Combined, the companies will offer an expanded set of Oracle solutions, more robust managed services and increased expertise in business intelligence and edge applications – all on a global scale.

“The comprehensive applications management and outsourcing solutions provided by Sierra Atlantic, combined with their global delivery model, will enhance our current services to quickly accelerate the growth of our Managed Services Business,” said Doug Allen, Executive Vice President of Managed Solutions for Hitachi Consulting. “Our combined solutions move us closer to realising our strategic goal of supporting our clients globally with an end-to-end solution including design-build-run and managed services.”

Both companies will utilise their respective business process integration skills to work toward a smooth transition to maintain business momentum, retain personnel and continue the highest quality of client support. The management team of Sierra Atlantic will remain intact and be integral to the success of the newly merged company.

Parr added, “Hitachi Consulting understands that in today’s challenging market we can leverage non-organic growth for our strategic advancement. To further strengthen our position and drive innovative solutions for our customers, we will continue to seek out these types of complementary relationships.”

###

About Hitachi Consulting Corporation
As Hitachi, Ltd.’s (NYSE: HIT) global consulting company, with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia, Hitachi Consulting is a recognised leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to Global 2000 companies across many industries. With a balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology, we work with companies to understand their unique business needs, and to develop and implement practical business strategies and technology solutions. From business strategy development through application deployment, our consultants are committed to helping clients quickly realise measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.

Hitachi Consulting’s client base includes 25 percent of the Global 100 as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach and transfer knowledge throughout each engagement. For more information visit www.hitachiconsulting.com

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi.com.

** Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Hitachiuk **

For further information, please contact:
Vanessa Land
Devonshire Marketing
Tel: 0870 242 7469
Email: vanessa[at]devonshiremarketing[dot]com

Red Hat Accelerates PaaS Strategy with Acquisition of Makara
Cloud Foundations takes another leap forward with technology to deploy,manage and auto-scale applications in the cloud 

December 2, 2010: Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced that it has acquired Makara, a developer of deployment and management solutions for applications in the cloud. Makara’s technologies will accelerate the development of Red Hat’s comprehensive Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution as part of its Cloud Foundations portfolio.

Based in Redwood City, Calif., Makara provides solutions to enable organizations to deploy, manage, monitor and scale their applications on both private or public clouds. Customers facing issues in moving applications to the cloud and managing them efficiently can benefit from Makara’s solutions for scaling, rightsizing, rollback and monitoring. By integrating the JBoss Enterprise Middleware infrastructure with Makara’s Cloud Application Platform, Red Hat can offer a more comprehensive PaaS solution that allows organizations to quickly transition their applications to both public and private clouds with minimal modifications.

“Cloud Foundations is about enabling customers and developers to have an easy on-ramp to the cloud. With the addition of Makara, we aim to further simplify application deployment and management,” said Paul Cormier, president of Products and Technologies at Red Hat. “We welcome the Makara team and look forward to accelerating our delivery of PaaS solutions to the market.”

Red Hat introduced Cloud Foundations in June 2010. Red Hat is in a unique position as the only vendor that has the infrastructure needed to deliver a complete, open source, flexible cloud stack, incorporating operating system, middleware and virtualization. Based on JBoss

Enterprise Middleware, Red Hat PaaS seeks to be the solution within the portfolio that will allow enterprises, cloud service providers, ISVs and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers to take existing assets and develop new applications and deploy them to a wide range of public and private clouds. With Red Hat, enterprises, cloud service providers, ISVs and SaaS providers can leverage their existing skills without rewriting applications.

“PaaS is becoming another market for software vendors looking to deliver compelling enterprise solutions in the cloud,” said Rachel Chalmers, research director at the 451 Group. “By acquiring the cloud technologies developed by Makara, Red Hat is now in a position to address this market by creating solutions for enterprises looking for deployment, management and auto-scaling capabilities to be baked into the core platform.”

Red Hat plans to make Red Hat PaaS available as software offered as a service in public or private clouds to help developers and organizations build, deploy and manage the entire life cycle of applications. Makara’s tools, technologies and solutions will be fully integrated with Red Hat PaaS, as part of the Cloud Foundations portfolio.

Today, enterprises can begin to deploy JBoss Enterprise Middleware in private clouds by leveraging Red Hat Consulting in conjunction with products and services from Red Hat partners. Red Hat offers a comprehensive suite of products and services across the entire application lifecycle designed to cost-effectively transition existing or new applications to both private and public clouds.

For more information about Red Hat, visit www.redhat.com. For more news, more often, visit www.press.redhat.com.

BANGALORE, INDIA, Oct 21, 2010 — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Beceem Communications Inc., a privately-held company that is a leading provider of fourth generation (4G) wireless platform solutions. Beceem has announced the industry’s first 4G multimode platform that can support both LTE and WiMAX 4G networks. Supporting peak broadband download speeds of up to 200Mbps, this technology will enable truly mobile broadband connectivity for smartphones, mobile computing, consumer electronics products and wireless gateways.
The acquisition of Beceem accelerates Broadcom’s time-to-market in 4G by adding a talented team with proven expertise developing and selling these solutions for a broadening ecosystem of equipment providers and operators. When combined with Broadcom’s 3G/2G cellular solutions, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, Ethernet switching and other associated IP, Beceem’s 4G technology will enable our combined customers to accelerate the market availability of highly integrated, lower cost 4G wireless broadband devices.
Service providers around the world are rolling out next generation 4G networks to meet the explosive demand for an expanding variety of content and the growing number of wireless connected devices per subscriber designed to access this content. Beceem’s solutions address both LTE and WiMAX, the two standards associated with 4G cellular services. According to the Global Semiconductor Alliance, 132 operators in 56 countries are investing in and are expected to deploy LTE, while WiMAX has already been deployed in over 550 networks in 148 countries. These next generation 4G networks will provide a robust mobile broadband experience at home, at work and while on the road for billions of people around the world.
“The combination of Beceem and Broadcom creates a leader in providing multimode wireless connectivity solutions to service providers and equipment manufacturers around the world,” said Scott Bibaud, Broadcom’s Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Mobile Platforms Group. “Beceem’s talented teams of engineers in India and the U.S. have been focused on enabling a 4G ecosystem of operators and equipment manufacturers to drive the deployment of 4G networks. We look forward to adding their innovative technologies to our product portfolio and providing these technologies to our customers.”
Beceem’s Chief Executive Officer, Surendra Babu Mandava, said: “When combined with Broadcom’s 2G and 3G cellular solutions and broader wired and wireless communications portfolio, our 4G products will enable operators to roll out next generation wireless broadband solutions while providing support for existing networks. Our combined offering will be one of the most extensive and formidable in the industry.”
In connection with the acquisition, Broadcom expects to pay approximately $316 million, net of cash assumed, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock and other equity rights of Beceem. The purchase price will be paid in cash, except that portion attributable to unvested employee stock options will be paid in stock options exercisable for shares of Broadcom’s common stock. A portion of the cash consideration payable to the stockholders will be placed into escrow pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement. Excluding any purchase accounting related adjustments and fair value measurements, Broadcom expects the acquisition of Beceem to be neutral to earnings in 2011. The boards of directors of the two companies have approved the merger. The transaction is expected to close in Broadcom’s fourth quarter, 2010 or by the end of Broadcom’s first quarter, March 31, 2011 and remains subject to the satisfaction of regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions.

About Beceem
Beceem is the leading provider of 4G semiconductors and offers a number of single-chip solutions optimized for mobile devices and wireless broadband markets. Beceem’s products are WiMAX certified, power the CLEAR and NOQ networks in the United States and are validated against WiMAX base stations from all major OEMs.

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom, one of the world’s largest fabless communications semiconductor companies, with 2009 revenue of $4.49 billion, holds more than 4,300 U.S. and 1,800 foreign patents, and has more than 7,900 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
A FORTUNE 500® company, Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.
Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, references to the anticipated benefits to Broadcom related to its acquisition of Beceem, the expected market and demand for 4G products, statements regarding anticipated customer responses or potential future product developments, the impact of the acquisition on Broadcom’s earnings, and the expected completion and timing of the transaction. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important risk factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the acquisition of Beceem include, but are not limited to:
·        the ability of the parties to successfully consummate the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement and related transaction documents,
·        unexpected variations in market growth and demand for 4G products and technologies,
·        the risks inherent in acquisitions of technologies and businesses, including the timing and successful completion of technology and product development through volume production,
·        integration issues,
·        costs and unanticipated expenditures,
·        changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners,
·        potential contractual, intellectual property or employment issues,
·        the risk that anticipated benefits of the acquisition may not be realized, and
·        accounting treatment and charges.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q32010.php.
Broadcom’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything® and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Broadcom Press Contact:
Rajiv Sarkar/Shaily Malviya

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Bangalore
Office: +91 80 4434 4356/+91 80 4434 4354
Cell: +91 99455 33392/+91 90089 57000
Email: rajiv.sarkar@ogilvy.com / shaily.malviya@ogilvy.com

ICFAI Universities strongly refute Thomson Financial Mergers and Acquisitions’ Report

Hyderabad, India, 11 August 2010 – Attention of Icfai Universities is drawn to the content of Thomson Financial Mergers and Acquisitions dated 6/8/2010 and also a Detailed Transaction Report (Priced):

We, on behalf of all the ICFAI Universities have to state as under:

Both the Web Pages and Detailed Transaction Report are full of in accuracies because of the following:

1: None of the ICFAI Universities are located at Hyderabad.

2: ICFAI Universities do not run schools at Elementary and Secondary Levels. (DTR Ref)

3: ICFAI Universities conduct only UG, PG and Doctoral programs under faculties of Management, Science & Technology, Law, Education and Humanities.

4: None of the ICFAI Universities have any deal with Everonn and did not even talk/ meet them.

5: ICFAI Universities do not run any separate Junior Colleges/ Technical Institutions.

Therefore, the contents in above two documents are factually incorrect, mischievous, and even possibly published with malafide intentions.

Our Stakeholders and Public in General are hereby informed that each one of the ICFAI University is set up by a designated Act of State Legislature and the respective State Government representatives are in the Board of Management in these Universities.

As per the provisions of each act, all important decisions need to be taken by The Board of Management with involvement of State Government representatives.

In view of the above clarifications, ICFAI Universities hereby refutes the Malafide Contents published in the Websites of Thomson Mergers and Acquisitions.

Authorized Signatory

Dr TRK Rao

Director – Corporate Communications Department

The Icfaian Foundation

#45, Nagarjuna Hills, Punjagutta Hyderabad -82

Ph: 23423142, 23430430, Fax: 23430461

HP and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

Perspective: Frost & Sullivan

“We believe that the next compelling market segment in IT industry would be Mobile space, acquisition of Palm by HP just reinforces this phenomena. Now the IT giant not only has more than 1,500 patents which comes as a direct result of acquisition but also has a robust and future ready open source mobile OS i.e. WebOS which gives them direct access to compete with likes of Google and Apple.

The crux of the deal stands in acquiring WebOS as its Web 2.0 compliant and enables end-users to have a seamless multitasking experience since it’s capable of integrating various sources of information into one. WebOS also uses web technologies like HTML 5, Javascript and CSS hence it saves the pain for developers to learn a new language. This acquisition augers well for HP as it has given them a neat package which positions them equal to the leaders if not two notches ahead in the ever growing mobile market.”

Attribute to:
Mohammad Saif, Deputy Director – Consulting, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East

Media Contact:
In case of any further queries, please feel free to get in touch with:

Caroline Lewis
Corporate Communications – South Asia
P: +91.98217 37935
F: +91.22.2832 4713
E: caroline.lewis@frost.com
www.frost.com

Kingston Technology, the world’s leader in memory products, is pleased to announce a comprehensive product warranty and support policy for its products in India. Aforeserve.com LTD, which is offering warranty outsource with over 47 direct offices in India, has been appointed by Kingston Technology to manage the after-sales support and service programs for all consumers in India.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, April 1, 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — Kingston Technology, the world’s leader in memory products, is pleased to announce a comprehensive product warranty and support policy for its products in India. Aforeserve.com LTD, which is offering warranty outsource with over 47 direct offices in India, has been appointed by Kingston Technology to manage the after-sales support and service programs for all consumers in India. For more details on Kingston after-sales support,

please visit: http://www.kingston.com/india/support/service_center.asp; http://www.kingston.com/india/support/rma.asp.

Effective from April 1st 2010, Aforeserve.com LTD will be replacing Accel Frontline, who was previously offering after-sales service for Kingston. Kingston’s after-sales services provided by Aforeserve.com LTD include walk-in and call-in services. All consumers can call Kingston service line (1-860-233-4515) to get parts registered before submitting defective parts to service hub. The service line is available from Monday through Saturday, 9:30am to 5:30pm and the service hub operation hour is from 10:00am to 8:00pm, Monday to Saturday. Furthermore, consumers can get Kingston’s excellent after-sales support via emails (RMA/Warranty Related: services_india@kingston.com; Technical Support Related: techsupport_india@kingston.com).

“Kingston is always committed to excellent product quality and satisfied customer services. Aforeserve.com LTD is a leading after-sales service provider to the IT Industry. I believe that partnering with Aforeserve.com LTD will be able to continue to provide the Kingston top-rated after-sales support to the local market. Since April 1st 2010, all consumers in India can enjoy the benefits from efficient and satisfied after-sales services,” said Scott Chen, Vice-President, APAC Region, Kingston.

To find out if your Kingston product is genuine, Kingston also provides an online verification site: www.kingston.com/asia/verify. To try the game “Search for Genuine Kingston”, please go to http://anti-counterfeit.kingston-blog.com. For the interesting animation: The Adventures of Rex, please visit: www.theadventuresofrex.com.

Availability

DRAM:

Neoteric Informatique Limited, HCL Infosystems Limited, Compuage Infocom Limited,

Transtek Infoways Private Limited, Shree Pati Computers Private Limited.

Flash:

HCL Infosystems Limited, Compuage Infocom Limited, Transtek Infoways Private Limited, Shree Pati Computers Private Limited, Sunrise Infosolutions Private Limited

About Aforeserve LTD

Aforeserve.com Ltd. is a leading after sales service provider to the IT Industry and its customers with its world class, repair, services and reverse Logistics and warranty management solutions. It offers full service solutions through integrated processes which are designed to fulfill and enhance service level commitments. Aforeserve.com Ltd. was established as a public limited company in 2000 and since then it has enjoyed rapid growth through sustained organized development. Aforeserve.com Ltd is headquartered in Noida, U.P. It has 46 direct service setups located all across India and has more than 700 trained personnel working on rolls.

Aforeserve.com Ltd. offers integrated service solutions including Chip Level Repairing, Logistics & Reverse Logistics, Spare Parts Operation, Onsite Customer Service and Return – to – Bench Support with the further option of managing the total outsourcing for all the customers warranty responsibilities. These technological services are provided to the major players in the IT Hardware industry, including OEMS, Integrators, EMS companies and End Customers.

Editor Notes

About Kingston Technology Company, Inc

Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and sales representatives in the United States, Taiwan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com/india

Crompton Greaves Limited (CG), part of the US$ 4 bn Avantha Group, today announced acquisition of U.K. based Power Technology Solutions Limited (PTS). The approximate Enterprise Value of this acquisition is £ 30 mn.

New Delhi, Delhi, India, March 30, 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — Crompton Greaves Limited acquires UK based company PTS for GBP 30 mn. Crompton Greaves Limited (CG), part of the US$ 4 bn Avantha Group, today announced acquisition of U.K.-based Power Technology Solutions Limited (PTS). The approximate Enterprise Value of this acquisition is £ 30 mn.

Avantha Chairman & CEO Mr. Gautam Thapar said, “CG is one of the country’s most globalised companies, with half its assets and more than 50% of its sales coming from abroad. This strategic investment will contribute as much to CG’s product portfolio as it will to our overall growth plans.”

Mr. S.M. Trehan, Managing Director, Crompton Greaves Ltd. said, “At CG, we are always exploring opportunities of growth and expansion that offer a strategic fit and right value. With the acquisition of Power Technology Solutions, CG will gain significant consolidation in the engineering, procurement & maintenance (EPM) segment in UK and get access to newer markets. This acquisition is a step forward towards achieving our revenue goal of US$ 8 bn by 2015.”

This is CG’s sixth acquisition in a span of five years (beginning 2005); the other acquisitions being Pauwels (2005), Ganz (2006), Microsol (2007), Sonomatra (2008) and MSE Power Systems (2008).

Established in 1999, PTS is a high voltage electrical engineering company which provides consultancy, technical and engineering support to regional electricity companies, including, but not limited to conceptual engineering / system studies and also complete EPC detailed engineering, spanning electrical (relay/control, SCADA and substation automation) and civil/structural (site foundation, development and structural design).

Editor Notes

About Avantha:

The US$ 4 bn Avantha Group is one of India’s leading business conglomerates. Its successful entities include BILT, Crompton Greaves, The Global Green Company, Avantha Power & Infrastructure, Solaris ChemTech Industries, Biltech Building Elements, Salient Business Solutions, and Avantha Technologies. With an impressive global footprint, Avantha operates in over ten countries, employing 20,000 people worldwide.The Group has business interests in diverse areas including power transmission and distribution equipment and services, paper and pulp, energy and infrastructure, food processing, farm forestry, chemicals, IT and ITES. Led by Gautam Thapar, Avantha demonstrates strong leadership globally and emerges as a focused corporate, leveraging its knowledge, leadership and operations, adding lasting value for its stakeholders and investors.

About Crompton Greaves Limited:

Crompton Greaves Limited (CG) is a pioneering leader in the management and application of electrical energy. Today it is India’s leading private sector enterprise, extensively engaged in designing, manufacturing and marketing high technology electrical products and services related to power generation, transmission and distribution, as well as executing turnkey projects. The company is organized into three business groups, viz., power systems, industrial systems and consumer products. Nearly, two-thirds of its turnover accrues from product lines in which it enjoys a leadership position. CG has 22 manufacturing divisions spread across India. And with the acquisition of Pauwels (Belgium), Ganz (Hungary), Microsol (Ireland), Sonomatra (France) and MSE Power Systems (USA), the company is emerging as a first choice global supplier for high quality electrical equipments.

Aditya Birla Minacs acquires UK-based Compass BPO. Strengthens F&A capabilities; Adds domain expertise in end-to-end accounting services and business solutions

9 March 2010, London (UK) / Toronto (Canada): Aditya Birla Minacs, a global business solutions company, today announced the acquisition of UK-based Compass BPO Ltd, a leading pure-play, end-to-end finance and accounting (F&A) services provider.

Compass BPO has appeared in the top 15 upcoming F&A BPO players in a recent Gartner report. It was also cited in the ‘Top Offshore BPO provider’s by FAO Today magazine, and in the ‘Global Services 100 – 2008 list’ by NeoIT and Global Services.

Through this acquisition, Minacs will takeover all the operations of Compass across the UK, US, Middle East and in India, bringing Minacs’ F&A employee strength to 600. The founders of Compass – David McCullough and Mark Atkins – will join Minacs’ management.

This announcement comes close on the heels of Minacs’ recent inauguration of its new Global F&A Center of Excellence in Chennai. Its end-to-end F&A services portfolio now includes transactional accounting, knowledge-based services (e.g. financial planning and analysis, research, budgeting! forecasting and reporting), risk support services, business solutions (implementation and Hosting and DBA services) and IT-based financial solutions and services.

Commenting on the deal, Deepak Patel, CEO – Aditya Birla Minacs, says, “With Compass forming the core of Aditya Birla Minacs F&A, we are now strongly positioned to be an integral part of our clients’ core processes. Compass is already a highly respected force in the F&A space with the full spectrum of capabilities. With 10 years of operations, it has excellent client credentials, a highly qualified team, and strong domain expertise. This move is part of our strategic roadmap, and brings to Minacs significant credibility in the fast growing F&A business”.

David McCullough, CEO – Compass BPO, said, “We at Compass are excited at the opportunities for accelerating growth by leveraging Minacs’ global platform. Our best-in-class F&A expertise and value-added business solutions will bring great advantages to Minacs’ Fortune 500 client base. We are also delighted to be part of a team that is known for its heritage of long-term partnerships with clients”.

Minacs has invested significantly in developing new capabilities in the recent past. F&A is a key focus area, including deployment of proprietary point solutions, which integrate with any ERP, allowing easy F&A process transition, client control and transparency. Similarly, Compass BPO provides business intelligence solutions for financial analysis and reporting enabling clients to make quick and informed business decisions.

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During 2009, Indian companies were involved in a total of 356 M&A deals, down 34% from 2008

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, February 24, 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — During 2009, Indian companies were involved in a total of 356 M&A deals, down 34% from 2008, according to a study by Venture Intelligence (http://www.ventureintelligence.in), a research service focused on Private Equity and M&A transaction activity in India. However, deal activity in the second half of the year was up by 34% when compared to the first six months.

The median deal value in 2009 (for the 151 deals which had announced transaction values) was $22.3 million, an increase from the $16.06 million in 2008, the Venture Intelligence study found. In the largest M&A deal by announced value, UltraTech Cement merged Samruddhi Cement with itself to form India’s largest Cement Company. This was followed by ONGC Videsh acquiring UK-listed Imperial Energy for $1.9 billion and Sanofi-Aventis’ acquisition of Hyderabad based Shantha Biotechnics.

Over 56% of the deals in 2009 were domestic acquisitions, as against the 43% in 2008.

The most preferred destination for Indian acquirers was USA with 22 of the 85 outbound targets in 2009 located in that country, followed by the UK and Australia (with 9 deals each). The acquirers in 28 of the 70 inbound deals were US-based companies, followed by German firms with ten deals and French firms with eight deals.

The IT & ITES and Manufacturing industries accounted for most number of acquisitions during 2009 contributing 22% and 18% respectively. The activity in the IT & ITES industry however fell from 27% during the same period last year. The share of manufacturing deals fell marginally (from 19%).

Editor Notes

About Venture Intelligence

Venture Intelligence, a division of Chennai-based TSJ Media Pvt. Ltd., is the leading source of information on private equity and M&A transactions in India. For more information, please visit http://www.ventureintelligence.in

Dürr acquires glueing technology specialist

Bietigheim-Bissingen Germany, January 26, 2010 – The Dürr Group acquired the business operations of the firm Kleinmichel, of Bernried Germany, on January 25, 2010. The company specializes in glueing equipment for automobile manufacture and general industry. With the acquisition, Dürr is round­ing out its existing product and service portfolio, and accelerating the expansion of this promising business area.

In vehicle assembly, Kleinmichel focuses on the glueing of windows, roofs, cockpits and spare wheel compartments. The core products are dispensing and application systems for adhesives, PVC and similar materials. The clientele of this technology leader, which was founded in 1984, includes all the German automobile manufacturers.

The acquisition of Kleinmichel enables Dürr to offer solutions for all glueing processes in vehicle production. On this basis, Dürr is looking to become one of the top players in this field. Backed by the group’s extensive interna­tional sales and service network, it aims to expand the business signifi­cantly. The glueing activities are part of the Application Technology busi­ness unit, to which the painting and sealing robot business also belongs.

Dürr sees attractive potential for automated glueing applications outside the automobile industry, too. The process is on the advance, for instance, in the solar industry and the production of electrical and electronic components.

Dr. Hans Schumacher, Managing Director of Dürr Systems GmbH, commented: “The acquisition will speed up the expansion of our glueing technology business. Kleinmichel has a lot of process know-how and ma­ture products. That will save us development time and costs.”

Ralf Dieter, Dürr AG’s CEO, commented: “The acquisition is part of our strategy to strengthen our technology position in selected business areas through smallish bolt-on acquisitions.” Last year Dürr acquired the Swiss cleaning systems firm UCM and the French balancing specialist Data­technic.

Automated glueing reduces cycle times and unit costs in the process chain and helps to improve quality assurance. Moreover, glueing technology processes are often better able than conventional technologies to meet the rising requirements with regard to safety, rigidity and comfort for instance in automotive engineering.

Klaus Kleinmichel GmbH, based in Bernried in Upper Bavaria, Germany, has approximately 30 employees and sales have averaged around € 7 million over the past years. The company was forced to file for bankruptcy due to financing problems. Dürr has acquired the business operations and all the assets of the firm Kleinmichel from the bankruptcy estate, and has taken over all the employees. The Bernried location will be retained and integrated into the Dürr network.

Dürr will probably be releasing preliminary results for the 2009 fiscal year at the end of February. The full annual financial statements for 2009 will be presented at the annual press conference in Stuttgart on March 17, 2010.

Dürr is a mechanical and plant engineering group that holds leading positions in the world market in its areas of operation. It generates about 85% of its sales in business with the automotive industry. It furthermore supplies the aircraft, machinery, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries with innovative production and environmental technology. The Dürr Group operates in the market with two divisions. The Paint and Assembly Systems division supplies production and painting technology, especially for car bodies.
Machinery and systems from the Measuring and Process Systems division are used in engine and transmission manufacturing and in final vehicle assembly, among other areas. Dürr has 47 business locations in 21 countries worldwide. The Group achieved sales of € 1.6 billion with approximately 6,100 employees in 2008.

BBC World News takes India Distribution to 22 million with Sun Direct Partnership

Mumbai, Maharashtra, February 11, 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — BBC World News has boosted its audience in India by over 20%, after signing a major new deal with Sun Direct that takes the channel’s overall India distribution to around 22 million.

The new arrangement, which begins this month, will see the BBC’s international, commercially-funded channel placed on the Basic pack on Sun Direct’s platform. This will mean the channel is now available to the entire spectrum of Sun Direct viewers, which numbers close to 5 million households across the country.

The deal comes hot on the heels of new programming on the channel dedicated to viewers in South Asia. The Hub with Nik Gowing is among a number of new programmes on BBC World News, launched at the beginning of February. The show, which is broadcast Monday to Friday 16.00-17.30 GMT, will take a look at international news from a South Asian perspective.

Colin Lawrence, Commercial Director of BBC World News, says “This is a great start to 2010 for us in what is a hugely important market. The fact that an extra 5 million households in India can now watch us directly is very significant, and we’re delighted that Sun Direct, India’s youngest and number 2 DTH Company, has taken us onto its platform. Our new schedule also gives Indian viewers content that is tailored to them, so we’re excited about the future here.”

Mr Tony D Silva, Chief Operating Officer, Sun Direct, adds: “BBC World News is a first class news channel with something unique to offer our viewers, particularly with its new programming focused on our region. We’re providing next-generation services to our audiences here, using the latest MPEG-4 based technology, and BBC World News is exactly the kind of channel we want to provide on our platform.”

The Log Channel No for BBC World News on Sun Direct’s platform is 567.

Editor Notes

About BBC World News

BBC World News, the BBC’s commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is owned and operated by BBC World News Ltd, a member of the BBC’s commercial group of companies. BBC World News attracts 74 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches more than 299 million households and 1.7 million hotel rooms. The channel’s content is also available on 81 cruise ships, 46 airlines, 35 mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including bbc.com/news. For further information on how to receive BBC World News, download schedules or find out more about the channel, visit bbcworldnews.com.

Education major Aptech acquires MAAC
Aptech Ltd. today announced its acquisition of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC). The acquisition is through the takeover of 100% equity shares of Maya Entertainment Ltd.(MEL) , the parent company of MAAC.

Mumbai, India, 28th January 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — Aptech Ltd. today announced its acquisition of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC). The acquisition is through the takeover of 100% equity shares of Maya Entertainment Ltd.(MEL) , the parent company of MAAC. The key shareholders of both companies signed an agreement to this effect today. MAAC, one of the largest players in the Animation & Multimedia education industry, is a premium brand with over 70 centres spread throughout India. These include company owned, semi owned and franchise centres.

Arena Animation, the leader in the field of Animation and Multimedia education in Asia, is an Aptech brand. Aptech already a global education major has further consolidated its domination through this move. With a network of over 1000 centres spread over 35 countries Aptech already owns well recognized education brands namely Aptech Computer Education, Arena Animation, N Power, Avalon Academy, English Express and Aptech Worldwide.

The deal is valued at Rs. 76 cr .  The deal is structured to include a cash payout as well as issue of equity shares of Aptech Ltd. to the shareholders of MEL.  Issue of shares is subject to approval of the shareholders of Aptech Ltd. and other approvals as may be required.

Speaking on this occasion Mr. Ninad Karpe the CEO & MD of Aptech said “With this acquisition Aptech has moved further in its strategy of becoming a global education powerhouse. MAAC, with its team of committed employees and franchisees, is a strong brand in the animation education space. We intend to further strengthen the brand and its centres. It is also a clear reflection of our strong belief in the bright future of the animation industry in India and abroad.”

Mr. Niraj Bhukhanwala, Director MEL said “The management of MAAC felt that through this integration, MAAC & Aptech will be able to harness all the benefits of a large company in a growing market and keep competition at bay. Through this, both the brands will be able to capitalize on each other’s strengths – particularly in the area of branding and product development. We are confident that this deal will enable both the brands to reach greater heights.”

Aptech also declared its standalone quarterly results for the period ending December 31, 2009. Profit after tax for the period was Rs. 3.61 crores, as compared to a loss of Rs. 0.9 crores in the same quarter of previous year.

ABOUT APTECH LIMITED

Aptech is an ISO 9001:2000 organization and was the first IT training and education organization in Asia to receive the ISO 9001 quality certification for Education Support Services in 1993. Aptech Limited, which features amongst TrainingOutsourcing.com’s Top 20 Global Training Outsourcing Service Provider (OSP) Companies, has trained over 5 million students – globally, who are presently pursuing high flying careers in the field of Information Technology.

Website : www.aptech-worldwide.com

This analysis was taken from a research paper published by GlobalData, to download the full Research Paper for free, click below:

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Leading Global Lodging Franchisor Focuses on Need for Mid-Market Lodging In Growing Indian Hotel Market

Gurgaon, Haryana, January 19, 2010 / IndiaPRLine / — Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) announced that it has agreed to acquire the remaining 60 percent ownership interest in Choice Hospitality (India) Ltd.. Choice Hospitality India serves as the master partner and franchisor of Choice’s hotel brands in India, and after the completion of the transaction, the entity will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The announcement coincides with the company’s sponsorship of the Hotel Investment Forum India Conference, taking place this week in Mumbai, at which Stephen P. Joyce, the company’s president and chief executive officer, is participating on the Hotel Leaders Forum.

“We plan to focus extensive development resources on growing our presence in India, which now stands at 28 hotels,” said Joyce. “India is an extremely important key market for our global growth and we’re looking forward to the great development potential that it holds for our brands and our hotels.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Choice Hospitality India’s franchisees will now be able to take advantage of the comprehensive menu of resources and focused executive-level attention from Choice Hotels International. This support is designed to help franchisees to grow their business, both among in-country and international travelers. Among the added benefits to Choice Hospitality India as a wholly-owned subsidiary are increased marketing initiatives, expanded programs, and additional training services.

“I’m very excited about our long-term growth opportunities and the passionate owners, operators, hotel staff and top-notch properties we have as part of our system in India,” said Mark Pearce, vice president, international operations for Choice Hotels International. “We truly believe that this move will be tremendously beneficial for all parties involved – Choice Hotels International, Choice Hospitality India and its current and prospective franchisees.”

“We are delighted about this transition, as this recent change for Choice Hospitality India speaks to the strong confidence Choice Hotels International has in its ability to grow its brands’ presence in India,” said Vilas Pawar, chief executive officer for Choice Hospitality India, who now reports directly to Mr. Pearce. “Development remains steady for us, as we’ve recently expanded our presence with the opening of the Quality Inn Pearl in Hyderabad, the Quality Hotel Sewa Grand in Faridabad and the Quality Inn Bliss in Gurgaon.”

Editor Notes

About Choice Hospitality (India) Ltd.

Choice Hospitality India is part of Choice Hotels International, one of the largest and most widespread lodging franchisors of the world with over 6000 hotels across the globe. Today Choice Hospitality India is one of the fastest and finest growing hotel chains with 28 properties in over 21 destinations in India and another 14 properties under different stages of development. These hotels are in various destinations including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kodaikanal, Lucknow, Faridabad, Amritsar, Shimla, Manali, Corbett, Pune, Nashik, Haldwani, Chiplun, Tuticorin and Vijayawada. Its presence in all the gateway cities proves that the chain is widely accepted by business as well as leisure travelers who recognize and trust the brand.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. franchises more than 6,000 hotels, representing more than 485,000 rooms in the United States and more than 35 other countries and territories. As of September 30, 2009, more than 700 hotels are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States, representing more than 59,000 rooms, and more than 100 hotels, representing approximately 9,400 rooms, are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in more than 20 other countries and territories. The company’s Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn,
Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands serve guests worldwide. In addition, via its Ascend Collection membership program, travelers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean have upscale lodging options at historic, boutique and unique hotels.

Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments is now Aditya Birla Money

16 November 2009 /IndiaPRLine.com/Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited, the securities broking arm of Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) has been renamed as Aditya Birla Money Limited. The company had seen a change in control when Aditya Birla Group acquired 76 per cent stake from the promoters and open market, in March 2009 and the name change reflects this change in shareholding.

Aditya Birla Money offers broking and distribution of a range of financial products and services, delivered both through an online and offline trading platform. The company has a strong distribution network of over 800 own and sub-broker branches, a large customer base in excess of 185,000 and a strong technology backbone.

Mr. Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group, said, “Securities broking is a core part of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group offering. With the new name, the business now reflects the strong brand equity and commitment of the parent group. Aditya Birla Money’s strong customer base, large branch network and talent pool of vertical specialists ensures that we are poised to tap the vast opportunity in this space.”

Aditya Birla Money has taken rapid strides to improve the operational effectiveness as well as to bring in new products and services such as E-IPOs, insurance distribution and prepaid brokerage plan for internet customers. The company has also launched its new website www.adityabirlamoney.com with a new look and enhanced features for equity trading.

About Aditya Birla Money

Aditya Birla Money (formerly known as Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments) is a broking player, offering Equity and Derivative trading through NSE and BSE and Currency derivative on MCX-SX. It provides commodity trading on MCX and NCDEX through its subsidiary Aditya Birla Commodity Broking Limited and is registered as Depository Participant with both NSDL and CDSL.

The company has a strong pan India distribution network of over 800 own and sub broker branches, a large customer base in excess of 1,85,000, a robust online and offline model with a strong technology backbone.

For more information please visit www.adityabirlamoney.com

About Aditya Birla Financial Services Group

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group is a broad based and integrated player in the financial services space with a strong presence across verticals viz., life insurance, asset management, retail broking, distribution and wealth management, NBFC, insurance broking and advisory services and private equity. ABFSG is rapidly growing in line with its vision to be a leader and role model in the Indian financial services sector.

The seven companies representing Aditya Birla Financial Services Group are Birla Sun Life Insurance Company, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, Aditya Birla Money (erstwhile Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments), Birla Sun Life Distribution Company, Birla Global Finance Company, Birla Insurance Advisory and Broking Services and Aditya Birla Capital Advisors.

The consolidated revenues from these businesses crossed USD 1 billion mark in 2008-09. Today ABFSG collectively enjoys trust of over 4 million customers, manages assets over USD 16 billion and prides itself for having a talent pool of over 15,000 committed employees. ABFSG has its wings spread across more than 500 cities in India through over 1,500 branches and over 2 lakh channel partners.

ABFSG is a part of Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited (ABNL), a USD 3 billion conglomerate having leadership position across its manufacturing as well as services sector businesses. ABNL is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a USD 29 billion Indian business house operating in 25 countries across the globe.

Please use this contact for media enquiries only:
Dr. Pragnya Ram
Group Executive President
Corporate Communications
Aditya Birla Management
Corporation Limited
Tel: 91-22-6652 5000 / 2499 5000
Fax: 91-22-6652 5741/ 42
Email:pragnya.ram@adityabirla.com

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Infosys BPO Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire US-Based Insurance Business Process Solutions Provider. Deal Establishes Infosys BPO as a Key Player in Business Platform Services for the Insurance and Financial Services Sector.

Bangalore, India – November 12, 2009, /IndiaPRLine.com/ Infosys BPO Limited, the business processing outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding interests of McCamish Systems LLC, a premier business process solutions provider, based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. The acquisition is expected to be completed later this year subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. The upfront consideration for the deal is USD 38 million with up to an additional USD 20 million payable to the sellers if McCamish Systems achieves certain financial targets in the future. The acquisition is expected to enhance Infosys’ capability to deliver end-to-end business solutions for the insurance and financial services industries.

Founded in 1985, McCamish Systems provides innovative solutions to the insurance and financial services industries leveraging their proprietary VPAS™, PMACS and Deferral+™ platforms. Consistently rated among the top platforms in the industry, VPAS™ supports both traditional and non-traditional life insurance and annuities. McCamish Systems also offers integrated sales and administration support solutions that are 409A-compliant to the retirement and financial services industries. The company counts half of the top 20 insurers among its many clients. For the year ended 31 December 2008, McCamish Systems reported revenue of USD 38.2 million. The company has approximately 260 employees based in their Atlanta delivery center.

“We look forward to this combination with McCamish, and welcome an exceptional group of professionals with strong skill sets to the Infosys family who will enrich our service capabilities in the USA,” said Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO and MD, Infosys BPO. “The deal will enable us to bring together a convergence of operations and technology. Infosys BPO has in-depth knowledge of the insurance and financial services sector, and this deal reinforces our leadership position in providing business platform services. Also, this will contribute positively to our strategy of growing non-linear revenue.” he added.

J. Gordon Beckham Jr., President and CEO, McCamish Systems said, “McCamish wakes up every day with one objective in mind – delivering world-class business solutions to our clients through continuous improvement. Our combination with Infosys is wholly consistent with this objective. Leveraging the domain expertise of our associates and platforms with Infosys’ industry-leading technology and BPO capabilities will be a game changer for the insurance and financial services industries. We are ready to roll.”

The combination is expected to enable McCamish to service larger portfolios of transactions for clients and expand into global markets. This will establish Infosys as a key player in providing business platform services.

About Infosys BPO Limited

Infosys BPO Limited www.infosys.com/bpo, the Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, was set up in April 2002. Today, it is ranked among the leading BPO companies in India by NASSCOM, Dataquest, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, Red Herring, FAO Today, NelsonHall, and others. Infosys BPO focuses on integrated end-to-end outsourcing and delivers transformational benefits to its clients through reduced costs, ongoing productivity improvements, and process reengineering. Infosys BPO operates in India, the Czech Republic, China, the Philippines, Poland, Thailand, Mexico and Brazil and employs over 16,400 persons. It closed FY 2008-09 with revenues of US $316.2 million.

About Infosys Technologies Limited

Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) defines, designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. These solutions focus on providing strategic differentiation and operational superiority to clients. With Infosys, clients are assured of a transparent business partner, world-class processes, speed of execution and the power to stretch their IT budget by leveraging the Global Delivery Model that Infosys pioneered. Infosys has over 105,000 employees in over 50 offices worldwide. Infosys is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index and The Global Dow. For more information, visit www.infosys.com.

Infosys Safe Harbor

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those regarding Infosys BPO’s future plans for the McCamish business, the expected closing date of the acquisition, the expected benefits of the acquisition, management plans relating to the acquisition, the ability to complete the acquisition considering the various closing conditions, the expectations as to the growth opportunities from the acquisition of the McCamish business, and the expectations regarding the integration of McCamish into Infosys BPO. The statements contained in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These statements, and any other forward-looking statements contained in this release, are based on the current expectations or beliefs of management of Infosys and Infosys BPO, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that, if they were to never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual outcomes, levels of activity, performance or achievements, including the realization of the expected benefits effects of the acquisition, to be materially different from those anticipated in this release include among others, the inability to integrate successfully McCamish within Infosys BPO or to realize synergies from such integration; failure to retain key employees; the economic environment of the industries in which Infosys BPO and McCamish operate, as well as facts relating to McCamish that may impact the benefits of the acquisition to Infosys BPO; and other factors affecting the operation of the respective businesses of Infosys BPO and McCamish. These forward-looking statements are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Infosys’ SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2009, and our other recent filings, and actual results may differ materially from those projected by forward-looking statements. We may make additional written and oral forward-looking statements but do not undertake, and disclaim any obligation, to update them.

For further information please contact:

Asia Pacific
Sarin Menoky
Infosys BPO Ltd, India
Phone: +91 99725 85052
Sarin_Menoky@infosys.com
Asia Pacific
Sayan Dutta
Corporate Voice/Weber Shandwick
Phone: +91 99806 43120
sayan@corvoshandwick.co.in

Australia
Cristin Balog
Infosys Technologies Ltd, Australia
Phone : +61 3 9860 2277
Cristin_Balog@infosys.com
EMEA
Antonia Maneta
Infosys Technologies Ltd, UK
Phone: +44 0 207 715 3499
Antonia_Maneta@infosys.com

The Americas
Peter McLaughlin
Infosys Technologies Ltd, US
Phone: +1 213 622 4949, Ext 206
Peter_McLaughlin@infosys.com

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