Caterpillar Sells Market Research and Analytics Operation to Satyam; Satyam Will Also Acquire Belgium's S&V Management Consultants
HYDERABAD, India, 20 May 2008 - Caterpillar, Inc., the global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, has agreed to sell a majority stake in its Market Research and Customer Analytics (MR&CA) operation to Satyam Computer Services Ltd.
The agreement calls for Satyam to acquire Caterpillar's MR&CA intellectual property and assets for $60 million. Satyam will also launch a business unit to provide MR&CA research, consulting and analytical services globally to Caterpillar and to Satyam's customers in various industries. Satyam will support Caterpillar in segmentation, promotions, forecasting, new product development, service, validation, and customer survey execution, and other related areas.
"We were honored to be named one of Caterpillar's few strategic partners in 2005, and this acquisition further demonstrates the trust both organizations have in each other," said Satyam Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju. "It also accelerates development of our business transformation capabilities and further enhances our end-to-end business solutions--from strategy on through to BPO. It is a significant step in our march toward becoming true business transformation partners with our customers."
"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Caterpillar," said Subu D., director and senior vice president of Satyam's Manufacturing and Automotive Group. "This acquisition provides us with a world-class platform to drive leadership and innovation in this space. Satyam will unlock the potential in the intellectual property and assets to offer high-end, differentiated MR&CA solutions and strategic services to Caterpillar and our other global customers." Satyam says Caterpillar's MR&CA IP and assets will complement its business consulting capabilities, industry and market research expertise, enhancing Satyam's offerings in these areas and improve its position as a provider of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services.
Satyam will also launch innovation centers in India, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific to support the MR&CA business requirements of Caterpillar and other organizations. The company says it will provide a full suite of innovative services for gathering, storing, accessing, and analyzing of data, primarily to global companies in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and telecommunications.
S&V Management Consultants
Satyam has also agreed to acquire S&V Management Consultants, a Ghent, Belgium-based supply chain management (SCM) consulting firm for $35.5 million, in an all-cash transaction. Satyam acquired the Equazion business decision support application in the transaction. Equazion is a supply chain performance management suite that focuses on macro business decisions.
"We are excited to acquire an established SCM firm that is respected for its innovative, high-quality, and high-end supply chain strategy services," said Chairman Raju. "S&V's entire team is renowned for its exceptional capabilities and we look forward to having our customers to benefit from that expertise." S&V was founded in 1992, and has offices in Belgium and the Netherlands. The $15 million firm develops supply chain strategy and performance, and supply chain process management solutions, primarily to clients in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, biotech, and public services. According to Satyam, S&V has 60 consultants, all of whom are Six Sigma-trained and APICS-certified.
"We are pleased to become part of the Satyam family, and to leverage its world-class business process and technology skills, global resources, and relationships with high-profile customers," said S&V Co-Founder and Partner Peter Verstraeten. "At the same time, we look forward to making our expertise and assets, including our robust software, available to our new colleagues and their customers."
Satyam says the acquisition provides leadership capabilities, customer relationships, higher value services, brand enhancement, and new competencies. According to Raju, "With S&V's experts as part of our team, Satyam will deliver superior, end-to-end transformational solutions with even greater speed and efficiency. As we deepen our relationships with longstanding customers, they expect us to provide highly strategic counsel. We are now more able to accommodate that demand."
According to S&V Co-Founder and Partner Steven Serneels, "Joining with Satyam affords S&V numerous exciting opportunities to help a wide range of global customers with their supply chain challenges," "Blending our consulting capabilities with Satyam's world-class process and technology expertise will provide the best and most complete supply chain solutions." S&V will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satyam, maintaining its name and brand in the near-term, but it will become a part of Satyam's Consulting and Enterprise Solutions team.
Satyam provides consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing services to clients in approximately 20 industries in 63 countries worldwide. Satyam, has 51,000 professionals provide services in engineering and product development, supply chain management, client relationship management, business process quality, business intelligence, enterprise integration, and infrastructure management. The company serves over 650 clients through development and delivery centers in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Egypt, the U.A.E., India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.