Telus To Acquire 1,800-Person Enterprise Superstar To Gain Next-Gen Consulting Prowess, Expand Into India

Telus International has announced plans to purchase an emerging IT consulting firm with broad advanced solutions capabilities that include cloud, DevOps, big data and IoT practices.

IT outsourcing specialist Telus, No. 29 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, believes buying Simi Valley, Calif.-based software services provider Xavient Information Systems will expand the company's suite of next-generation consulting services and establish its first meaningful presence in India.

Telus intends to acquire a 65 percent stake in Xavient and, as part of the agreement, holds an option to scoop up the company's remaining equity before Jan. 1, 2021 for an estimated $250 million. The final price tag of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2017, will factor in "various performance-related metrics," according to the company.

[Related: Telus International Buys Customer Experience Powerhouse Voxpro ]

Xavient, which employs about 1,800, announced plans in May 2016 to recruit more than 1,000 people to its Noida and Bengaluru offices in India; the U.S.-based company noted at the time that more than 80 percent of its workforce was India-based.

Telus International – the 28,000-employee outsourcing and call center segment of Telus Corp., which also provides wireless, television and Internet services in Canada – has now made three significant deals within the past 18 months. The Vancouver-based division bought Ireland-based professional services firm Voxpro for an undisclosed in August, and in May 2016 sold 35 percent of its international business to Baring Private Equity Asia at a $1 billion total company valuation.

Xavient is an Oracle Gold-tier partner that has also partnered with the likes of SAP, Salesforce, IBM, Microsoft and Confluent. The solution provider primarily serves the telecom, media and entertainment, healthcare and financial services markets, where it offers user experience, open-source platform, cloud, over-the-top, big data, DevOps, IoT, mobility, enterprise application and automation services.

Recently, Xavient captured two Gold Awards at the 2017 IT World Awards, where it was recognized for software excellence in the areas of business intelligence and network configuration management.