Infosys and Clear2Pay deal called off at the last minute

IT service provider Infosys was hours away from an acquisition by the Belgian payments specialist Clear2Pay in the month June. De IT giant decided to call off the deal at the “last minute” due to unexpected dispute between the dealmakers about the cost of the acquisition. The Indian participant was willing to pay half a billion for Clear2Pay, but aborted the deal when the Belgians at the last moment increased their asking price. This was leaked by a person familiar with the matter to the Indian newspaper Times of India.

Infosys approached Clear2Pay in the first quarter of this year. Following a detailed due diligence, the Indian firm was “convinced of the value of Clear2Pay’s financial position, intellectual property, product suite, client roster and management”, says the source. The parties decided to merge and several meetings were held in the month of June in Belgium and India by executives and dealmakers. The Indian deal team was led by Infosys CEO Shibulal and CFO Balakrishnan.

History repeating

It is not the first time that Infosys is not able to secure a big deal. In 2008, Infosys was on the verge of acquiring English software consulting specialist Axon for £407 million, but a week after it made its intent public, concurrent HCL made a counter-bid at £441 million to win over Axon's board. Infosys refused to get into a bidding war and was criticized by many for its unwillingness to risk a contest with HCL despite being in a vastly superior financial position.

Acquisition of Lodestone Management Consultants?

Infosys is trying to build a footprint in Europe through acquisitions in several European markets. According to media reports in Switzerland, Infosys has recently made a bid of proximately $300 million for the Swiss-based consulting firm Lodestone Management Consultants.