HCL said it was buying H&D International Group, a Germany-based provider of IT and engineering services to the automotive industry, for an undisclosed sum.
It described H&D International as one of the largest IT service providers in the German automotive industry.
“H&D has established a strong footprint in the German and Central European automotive markets and is the IT services provider to one of Germany’s biggest car manufacturers, making It a great investment for HCL,” said Klaus Holzhauser, MD of Pierre Audoin Consultants.
“The portfolios of HCL and H&D are a winning combination, comprising of infrastructure and applications services as well as connected vehicle, Industry 4.0 solutions and embedded software in both the manufacturing and automotive sectors.”
The acquired company also has 20 offices globally including in the USA, the Czech Republic and Poland.
HCL and other Indian outsourcing providers like KPIT and TCS provide a variety of services to auto companies, including purely IT support as well as in engineering jobs such as designing auto parts.
“H&D specializes in IT Infrastructure, application services particularly in R&D IT, shop floor IT and Industry 4.0 solutions and has extensive expertise in SAP, computer-aided technologies (CAx), engineering services and customer-specific product development,” HCL said.
H&D’s existing delivery center in Gifhorn, Germany, will become an HCL facility and will continue to focus on delivery of IT and engineering services in Germany and outside, it added.
The acquisition adds “significant in-country front office” and delivery capabilities and will further enhance the HCL’s domain expertise in the global automotive sector, the NOIDA-based company said.
Germany, home to companies like Mercedes Benz and BMW, is one of the three leaders in automotive technology, along with Japan and the US.
“Germany is a critical market for HCL as we continue to expand our business in Europe,” said Ashish Gupta, Corporate Vice President at HCL Technologies.
“We feel the German market is at an inflection point and it is the right time for HCL to expand and make significant investments here. H&D has a long-standing track record of high-quality service delivery and we are confident this will play a significant role in our continued growth in Germany.”
Bernhard Honigsberg, CEO of the H&D International Group said the addition of HCL’s delivery strength will help his company’s clients.
“Furthermore, the experience and know-how of HCL and H&D complement each other perfectly and our employees are set to benefit significantly from the new opportunities that lie ahead.”
This is not HCL’s first acquisition in the German market. It has previously acquired the IT operations Volvo and India-based Geometric Software.