Capgemini makes Big 4 sit up with its plan to buy WNS for $3.1 bn, say global tech analysts
'This acquisition will give Capgemini a new positioning in the global tech market against the Big 4 comprising Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG, which have traditionally dominated the consulting and technology services,' Phil Fersht, CEO, HFS Research, a Cambridge-based analyst firm told The Hindu.
Mr. Fersht said, from a competitive perspective, a potential big win for Capgemini was its new positioning against the Big 4, which have traditionally dominated consulting and technology services.
'With Capgemini's global scale and depth of technical capabilities, the addition of WNS could create an ideal incubation business to develop leading-edge Services-as-Software solutions to attack this huge $1.5 trillion emerging marketing opportunity,' Mr. Fersht said.
'The long-rumoured acquisition of WNS is finally here. Capgemini is returning to its acquisition lead growth model and acting as a major force in industry consolidation.,' said Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder and executive chairman of Dallas-based Everest Group.
According to the Everest Group's chief, Capgemini is betting that the WNS book of business will provide a fertile ground for AI-driven transformation and allow it to develop new transformative AI-powered platforms. 'The potential is clearly there, but the journey will require significant additional investment and a resolute leadership team,' Mr Bendor-Samuel cautioned.
The deal may trigger a new consolidation in the tech industry, he said.
Mr. Bendor-Samuel said BPO (BPM) as a space has held up well in a world rocked by AI which has yet to have a significant impact on the space. 'However, this deal could be the start of a significant industry consolidation,' he opined.
'This may well kick off another round of industry consolidation as the large strategics look to grow inorganically and prepare for the massive changes that AI is starting to bring,' he forecast.
According to tech industry observers, Capgemini, with WNS's operational expertise integrated into its offerings, could deliver end-to-end transformation services that the Big 4 cannot – and at lower price points.
In some cases like procurement services, Capgemini acquires a well-established strategic sourcing capability built on WNS's 2017 Denali acquisition, strengthening Capgemini's F&A and procurement capabilities. Also, WNS's North American and U.K.-centric client base allows Capgemini to expand its geographic footprint.
To a firm like Capgemini, Mr. Fersht further said, WNS's client base was a gold mine of sales opportunities where its client operations executives could easily explore to replace BPO services with Services-as-Software. 'Further, WNS's deep domain expertise, the cornerstone of its client growth rate, provides Capgemini, which has historically lagged behind other companies in terms of domain-specific operational BPO delivery,' he added.
Earlier in the day, Capgemini and WNS had entered into a definitive transaction agreement under which Capgemini would acquire WNS for a total cash consideration of $3.3 billion.
The French tech major said it would US-listed WNS for a cash consideration of $76.50 per WNS share, which represents a premium of 28% to the last 90-day average share price, of 27% to the last 30-day average share price and a premium of 17% to the last closing share price on July 3, 2025.
The transaction would be accretive to Capgemini's normalised EPS by 4% before synergies in 2026 and 7% post synergies in 2027, it said. 'Capgemini's acquisition of WNS will provide the Group with the scale and vertical sector expertise to capture that rapidly emerging strategic opportunity created by the paradigm shift from traditional BPS to Agentic AI-powered Intelligent Operations,' said Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini.
Keshav R. Murugesh, Chief Executive Officer of WNS said, 'Organisations that have already digitised are now seeking to reimagine their operating models by embedding AI at the core—shifting from automation to autonomy.'
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close by the end of the year.
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