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Wipro, India’s No. 3 software services exporter, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy some personal care businesses of Yardley for about $45.5 million, adding to its consumer goods business.

Wipro said it had signed an agreement with UK-based Lornamead group, which owns the Yardley brand, for the businesses in Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and some African markets. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-December, it said in a statement.

Lornamead’s global turnover is estimated to be close to $650 million. Its portfolio straddles various categories of personal care products including hair-care (Brisk, Aqua Net and Vosene), cosmetics and skin-care (Amplex and Handsan), oral care (Brilliant and Goldspot) and home care brand Stergene.

Tura is a significant player in soaps and skin care in Nigeria, with an annual turnover of close to $50 million.

This is Wipro’s second big buy-out in the FMCG space in two years. In July 2007, Wipro had acquired Singapore-based personal care products manufacturer Unza Holdings Ltd for $246 million (Rs 1,010.2 crore) in an all-cash deal. That deal with Unza’s portfolio of shampoos, creams, lotions and detergents had marked Wipro’s big plunge into the global FMCG space.

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Infosys Technologies said on Monday it had agreed to buy British consultancy Axon Group Plc for £407m (US$753m) as India’s second-biggest software services exporter looks for growth beyond an uncertain U.S. market.

The cash deal values Axon at £6 per share, a 19.4 per cent premium over Friday’s close of £5.025 and 33 per cent over the average price of the last six months, Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said.

The offer price included any interim dividend that Axon, which has a market value of almost US$600m, may announce when it releases results on Tuesday, Infosys said. The Axon board has already ”unanimously recommended” the offer, with its large shareholders and some key employees also supporting the deal, Infosys CFO V. Balakrishnan said.

”They wanted to enter Europe in a big way, and probably this is the reason why they have paid a higher premium,” said R. K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund in New Delhi.

”It’s a positive sign for the company because they were sitting on a huge cash pile, and it was not generating any return.”

Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, Nasdaq-listed Infosys expects to complete the deal in November. Axon, which provides services to companies using products of German business software maker SAP, would be delisted, Infosys said.

Rest of the news here.

Above picture of Infosys Mysore courtesy: Karthik

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