HCLTech, Infosys in race for $1-billion Volvo mega deal: Report

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IT services company HCLTech is ready to battle it out to defend its $1-billion mega deal with Swedish truck maker Volvo Group which is up for renewal, as rival Infosys eyes the contract, a Times of India report said.

Both teams and their leaders were at Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg in Sweden last week for the final lap of negotiations.

This deal will be a major shot in the arm for the winner after at least a quarter of no mega deals for Tier-I Indian IT players.

On HCLTech’s side, the negotiations are led by Ashish Kumar Gupta, Head for EMEA and corporate VP, who was instrumental in getting the deal back in 2016.

The agreement then encompassed HCL's delivery of a technology transformation blueprint covering more than 3,500 applications, more than 20 data centres, 11,000 servers and above 15,000 network devices, the  report said.

HCLTech also set up an automotive centre of excellence in Gothenburg, equipped with capabilities spanning manufacturing IT, R&D, along with digital and IoT functionalities to cater its global clientele.

"As a policy we do not comment on the specif.ics of client agreements," HCLTech told TOI.

In 2016, HCL bought Volvo Group's external operations for $138 million. The acquisition was estimated to deliver $1 billion in revenue over five years. The combined value of acquiring the IT operations and securing a five-year outsourcing contract from the Volvo Group was estimated to bring HCL approximately $2 billion in revenue through the next five years.