Wipro announced it will take over the IT units of METRO AG, a leading global wholesale company based in Germany, as part of a $700 million IT deal.
Infosys announced an IT transformation deal with Daimler AG, a leading automobile company based in Germany.
Wipro will take over the IT units of METRO AG — METRO-NOM GMBH in Germany and METRO Systems Romania and more than 1,300 employees across Germany, Romania and India will transfer to Wipro, a leading IT services company in India.
The estimated deal value for the duration of the first 5 years is approximately $700 million, Wipro said on Tuesday. The total size of the deal will increase to $1 billion with the intention to extend up to 4 additional years.
Wipro said it will deliver a complete technology, engineering and solutions transformation program for METRO as it positions itself as a Wholesale 360-degree provider in the hotel, restaurant and catering food industry.
Wipro’s transformation program will encompass cloud, data center services, workplace and network services, along with application development and operations to provide anrobust digital infrastructure to help drive METRO’s transformation agenda, Thierry Delaporte, chief executive officer and managing director of Wipro, said.
“Partnering with Wipro allows us to simplify and streamline our IT landscape, and critically gives us access to innovation and the best digital practices,” said Timo Salzsieder, CIO of METRO AG.
Wipro earlier announced its plans to launch a Digital Innovation Hub in Dusseldorf, Germany to support METRO and other clients in the region.
The take over is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close on or before April 30, 2021. The transaction was assisted by the global strategy consulting firm EY-Parthenon.
METRO has more than 16 million customers who can choose to shop in their large-format stores, order online and collect their purchases at the store or have them delivered.
METRO operates in 34 countries and employs more than 97,000 people worldwide. METRO has generated sales of €25.6 billion in financial year 2019-20.
