Helios to shift US arm business to India

The Chennai-based Helios & Matheson Information Technology is shifting the businesses of the New York-based The A Consulting Team (Tact) to India to increase its offshore operations by 45 per cent in the coming days. Currently, offshore revenues account for 37 per cent of the company's operations.

"We want to shift 100 per cent of Tact's operations to India without any retrenchment by March 2008," Helios Managing Director G K Muralikrishna said. Helios, which acquired a controlling stake in Tact last year in a $8.75 million all-cash deal, has recently changed the US company name to Helios & Matheson North America.  Post-shifting, Muralikrishna said, the US subsidiary's technical pool would be utilised for client interfacing and handling incremental business.

The company, which reported $26.4 million revenues in 2006, will be adding 10 more hands to its 14-member business development team in the US.

According to Helios Chairman V Ramachandran, the technology solutions provider was looking for a healthcare company in Europe for acquisition to double its business from the current level of 7 per cent.

" We are negotiating with four companies and the acquisition is expected to be finalised by the next quarter," he said.

Ramachandran said Helios had the resources to fund the buyout. The company has $30 million in cash and its internal accrual is pegged at $15 million per annum.