Oct 21st - NTT Data To Buy U.S. IT Firm For Y100bn (1.2 bn USD)

NTT Data Corp. has decided to acquire U.S. IT service provider Keane Inc. in a deal estimated at slightly more than 100 billion yen.

The two companies are in the final stages of negotiations, working toward reaching an agreement by the end of the month.

A Citigroup Inc. investment unit currently owns a roughly 50% stake in Keane, with the remainder held by the Boston-based firm's executives and employees. NTT Data will purchase all outstanding shares and take control of the company, marking its biggest acquisition to date.

The purchase will provide NTT Data access to blue chip clients in the U.S., including manufacturers and financial institutions, as well as Keane's R&D bases in India and elsewhere.

NTT Data has set a goal of lifting its overseas sales to 300 billion yen in the year through March 2013, up from roughly 70 billion yen in fiscal 2009.

Japanese companies increased acquisitions of foreign businesses by 20% on the year in the January-September period. Making the most of their rich cash reserves and the stronger yen, more Japanese firms will likely turn to overseas mergers and acquisitions to propel global expansion. As of March 31, domestic nonfinancial private-sector businesses held a total of 203 trillion yen in cash reserves.