Here's why Hexaware wants to buy Mobiquity for Rs 1,266 crore

Hexaware Technologies announced its acquisition of US-based Mobiquity for about Rs 1,266 crore on Friday. This is the largest investment by the company and the duo aim at competing for major digital consulting rivals.

The Reason:

The Mumbai based IT company acquired Mobiquity to initiate a cloud workspace and help in accelerating their contributions to their customers' business growth. Mobiquity will allow global recognition to Hexaware with its centres in Florida, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Amsterdam, Pune, and Ahmedabad.

"Hexaware enters an exciting new phase of growth and capability with the acquisition of Mobiquity Inc. Mobiquity strengthens two of our key strategic offerings: Cloudify Everything and Customer Experience Transformation. We are seeing strong demand for these capabilities and, with this acquisition; we will be able to further accelerate our contributions to our customers' business growth. Both Hexaware and Mobiquity have created a very strong impact on their clients and have a mutually complementing position. Our combined capabilities will enhance our market positioning and opportunity to make an impact for our clients," said R Srikrishna, CEO, Hexaware Technologies.

Mobiquity is associated with some well-known brands in the world, such as Amazon Web Services, Rabobank, Philips, Wawa, Backbase and Otsuka. It is the largest independent consulting firm that specialises in creating multi-channel digital experiences using cloud technologies.

"Today we start a bold new chapter in Mobiquity's growth story. Joining hands with Hexaware gives us added scale, a broader portfolio of offerings that are relevant to our clients' digital journeys, and the opportunity to strengthen the Mobiquity brand," John Castleman, CEO of Mobiquity, said.

As per a regulatory filing, Hexaware agreed to a cash deal of an upfront payment of about Rs 913 crore and a deferred payment of about 356 crores by earnouts. The filing also added that the acquisition will help gain traction in banking and pharma verticals, which are the focus areas for the company.

Mobiquity made a revenue of about Rs 488 crore in the calendar year 2018. At the same time, Hexaware had reported revenues of about Rs 1,264 crore in the first quarter of 2019, showing an annual growth of 10.9 per cent.

The acquisition announcement by Hexaware has seen a significant share price hike of 3.64 percent. Last year, Hexaware saw a share price fall of 20 percent but has gained by 7 percent in the second quarter.