Wipro buys retail specialist Enabler

The Indian IT services firm gains a greater European presence and major retail customers in the UK

Indian IT services provider Wipro is pushing further into Europe, after announcing that it will pay €41m in cash to acquire Enabler, a retail IT services specialist based in Portugal.

The deal, which is expected to close later this month, will see Wipro gain 300 staff, Enabler's two development centres in Portugal and Brazil, and a raft of high-profile European retail customers including Tesco, B&Q, and Debenhams in the UK.

Sudip Banerjee, president of enterprise solutions at Wipro said in a statement that the deal would bolster Wipro's standing in the retail sector. " Enabler’s proven and reference-able track record in retail domain consulting and package implementation skills helps us strengthen our position as a preferred solutions provider to large retailers globally,” he added.

Enabler specialises in providing Oracle-based retail systems and the deal won backing from the software vendor, which confirmed that it would work closely with both companies in the future.

The acquisition is the latest example of an India-based IT services firm looking to acquire a European front-end to its offshore operations, a strategy many believe will reduce some customers concerns about moving IT work offshore.

Sudip Nandy, chief strategy officer at Wipro said the move also fitted into the company’s strategy to exploit alternative low-cost development centres. " This transaction expands our geographic footprint and adds two new delivery centres in strategic locations such as Portugal and Brazil,” he said.