MUMBAI: US-based Corpus Inc. has acquired Recreate Solutions, a media and entertainment software outsourcing company floated by former Zee Telefilms employee Bhaskar Majumdar, for Rs 600 million.
"It is a cash-and-stock deal. The acquisition price is around Rs 600 million," says a source.
The shareholders of Recreate Solutions will hold seven to eight per cent in Corpus, the source says. Insight Capital Partners, which had made two rounds of funding totalling $6 million, holds 75 per cent in Recreate Solutions while founder- promoter Majumdar has the balance 25 per cent.
With the acquisition, Corpus will enjoy a footprint in Europe and India where Recreate Solutions has a wide range of clients. A provider of technology services to the telecom, banking and financial sector, Corpus will now be able to also offer to its big clients like Verizon solutions for IPTV and interactive TV.
"The acquisition will help Corpus enter a new vertical. The company so far was doing backend work for telecom and financial companies. The acquisition will help them to offer front end skills like gaming, IPTV and ITV. The geographical areas are also complementary as they were strong in the US while we had a presence in Europe and India," says Recreate Solutions CEO Majumdar.
Corpus, which has several Fortune 100 clients and is eyeing a revenue of $100 million, will make the current facilities of Recreate Solutions as its main outsourcing hub, though it has a small base in Bangalore. With the acquisition of the Recreate Solutions’ team of 100, Corpus has now grown its worldwide team to 580.
The acquisition will also help tap telecom operators in India who have IPTV and other convergence plans. Recreate Solutions was in talks with some of the operators but couldn‘t make a breakthrough. "The interactive media industry is maturing across platforms. It is consolidating around companies that have viable cost structures and revenue streams that generate healthy margins.
Outsourcing of non-core technology functions is a proven method to increase profitability. Recreate Solutions is focused on providing high quality outsourced solutions that add value to clients in our service segment: Digital Interactive Content. Under the Corpus banner we will now we able to take our solutions to Corpus’s Fortune 100 client base," says Majumdar.
Recreate Solutions has clients like Bell ExpressVu, Canada, Exit Games, YooMedia and CNBC in India. The company is also doing product development work for Espial, a company which specialises in browser solutions on the set top boxes.
