3i Infotech - Acquisition of majority stake in Linear

3i Infotech Ltd has informed that the Company has acquired a majority stake in M/s. Linear Financial & Management Systems Pvt Ltd (Linear), a Delhi based BPO (Transaction services) Company. Linear carries on its business under the brand name 'Factoring House'.

Linear is a profit making Company and has been in existence for over 15 years. The main business of the Company is 'Contact Point Verification' for banks and financial organizations engaged in retail leant. It has clients encompassing private, foreign and public sector banks. Linear was set up and run by Mr. Kavi Ghei.

The acquisition is in line with the stated strategy of the Company, of expanding its capabilities in the domestic BPO (Transaction services) business in India.

Mr. Rajiv Malhotra, Innovative Solutions, New Delhi was the advisor to both the parties.

3i Infotech expansion plans in Chennai

3i Infotech Ltd has announced that the Company recently unveiled its expansion plans in Chennai. The Company announced the launch of its first International Data Centre (IDC), which will offer managed hosting services for application and disaster recovery solutions. As part of its strong foray in the $41.5bn** managed services market, 3i Infotech announced the launch of its Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services through its Global Network and Security Operations Center (GNSOC). The Company is also setting up mini centres of excellence (GOES) for Operating Systems: Microsoft, Red Hat Linux, AIX, Solaris, Databases : Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, DB2, Messaging Solutions and IT Security Labs for Ethical Hacking and Vulnerability Assessments and niche Application Infrastructure solutions.

Located in 3i Infotech's 7-storey Chennai facility, the IDC, GNSOC and COEs will be jointly spread over 25,000 sq ft area. Out of this, the IDC, which conforms to the Tier III International Data Standard, will alone occupy a total of 6000 sq ft area, with all access controls, CCTV, UPS, Precision AG along with Rack and cage facility. The centre will provide secure data centre hosting facilities for its clientele in India and across the globe. The GNSOC will provide customers with Remote IT Infrastructure Monitoring and Management Services with a 24/7 IT Helpdesk. With an operating area for around 75 people, the remote infrastructure set up is spread across 3000 sq ft area.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Hari Padmanabhan, Dy. Managing Director of the Company, said "3i Infotech today offers an unparalleled range of products across the insurance, banking & financial services, manufacturing and distribution landscape and we will continue to expand and deepen our product portfolio across the verticals we are focused on. Customers in this space, however, are today looking at driving larger scale in their business at lower implementation cost. The challenge for the CEO therefore, is to be able to relate cost to revenue. With the inauguration of our International Data Centre today, 3i Infotech has dramatically shifted its ability to service such customers to provide them a single point business execution outsourcing solution."

Mr. Padmanabhan further added, "With our domain specific products positioned as the core IT solution, the infrastructure being managed by us, hosted applications provided out of our data centre and linked to our back-end BPO services, the business manager can today get a single point variable cost solution on service levels not available else where. This unique end-to-end single point business execution outsourcing proposition, will give us a strategic advantage in the market. The facility also enables us to provide business continuity service such as disaster recovery centres for our customers."

Considered the next wave in managed services, today 3i Infotech is able to provide its customers not just with data centre hosting services but also with the ability to manage a Company's IT infrastructure remotely and anywhere in the world. Increasing pressures for regulatory compliance, growing need for technology standardization and the country's booming communication infrastructure are some of the factors driving the remote infrastructure services.

3i Infotech has a major presence in the area of managed services with key clientele such as NCDEX, IL&FS and Star Health Insurance to its credit. Although there are several players in the space of Managed Services, 3i Intotech has a distinct advantage in the BFSI space with a strong legacy, deep domain expertise and proven track record. Given the boom in telephony services in the country, telecom Companies too are most likely to avail of 3i Infotech's world class services.

3i Infotech acquires J&B Software

3i Infotech Ltd, on October 15, 2007 has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire J&B Software Inc., USA and its subsidiaries. J&B Software Inc. is engaged in the business of providing software products and services relating to remittance processing in the United States with blue chip customers. The Company is a profitable Company with revenues of about USD 25 million. The Company would pay a consideration of USD 25.25 million at the closing of the transaction. The acquisition will be EPS accretive.

J&B Software Inc. has robust and highly scalable software products for payment processing. The acquisition of J&B Software Inc. is a strategic move for Company as it would enable penetration into the blue chip BFSI customer base in the US and enable taking J&B's payment processing solutions to global markets, including high growth Asian markets. The acquisition will also provide the Company significant cross selling opportunities.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. V. Srinivasan, Managing Director and CEO of the Company said, "The acquisition of J&B Software Inc. is a strategic one and will enable 3i Infotech to strengthen its positioning in BFSI segment globally".

Mr. Bala Balasubramanian, Chairman and CEO, J&B Software said, "We believe that through this partnership we will be able to take J&B Software solution offerings globally".

Mr. Robert Bartlett, President and COO, J&E3 Software said, "We are excited about this partnership, which will enhance our strength, both in USA and in other markets".

3i Infotech - Traction Index Leader

3i Infotech Ltd on October 08, 2007 has announced that it has been named a "Traction Index" leader in a recent report from Research and Advisory firm, Celent, based on the analysis of key software vendors for the insurance industry in North America.

3i Infotech was also named a leading provider in the Full Policy Administration Systems category, based on the number of deals the Company inked in 2005 and 2006.

"Leaders in our Traction Index are demonstrating strong market momentum among insurers, which gives them the kind of experience that many carriers are looking for", says Craig Weber, Senior Analyst with Celent and author of the report. The Traction Index is a weighted score that measures the volume and type of deals that software Companies made during 2005 and 2006.

"The leading providers named in the report are active in the insurance vertical," said Weber. "That gives them excellent insights into the unique needs of insurance carriers," Weber added.

With a long-term focus on the insurance market, 3i Infotech has augmented its insurance software offering PREMIA™ to deliver an integrated solution for insurance Companies around the world.

Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Hariharan Padmanabhan, Deputy Managing Director, 3i Infotech, said "Over the last 5 years in particular, we have invested significantly in creating a solution that can effectively address Insurance Companies the world over, including the US. This is of particular interest to Insurance Companies who want to migrate to or invest in a technology platform that will enable them to compete effectively in the rapidly changing insurance market. This Celent report is an acknowledgement of US market's acceptance of PREMIA".

Mr. Padmanabhan further added "With over 100 customers globally, PREMIA enjoys a strong patronage of insurance Companies / customers across 5 continents. This gives us great encouragement to work with greater vigour to attain our goal of industry leadership in this space".

3i Infotech - Bonus Shares

3i Infotech Limited has informed the Exchange that "The Company has completed all statutory formalities relating to the issue of the Bonus Share. The intimation to the shareholders about the credit of the bonus shares is being dispatched. In case of shares held in physical form, the physical bonus shares and the intimation regarding the same is also being sent to the shareholders. Consequent to the Bonus issue, the Company's issued and paid up share capital is Rs.1,295,752,620 consisting of 129,575,262 fully paid up equity shares of Rs.10 each".