US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions is reportedly in fray to acquire Perot Systems, an IT services arm of PC-maker Dell Inc., along with Japan-based NTT Data Corp. and Atos SE of France.
Dell is looking for a valuation of over $5 billion for the deal to reduce its debt burden following the acquisition of data storage company EMC Corp for $66 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Dell is scheduled to merge EMC by October 2016, subject to approval by EMC shareholders.
Selling Perot Systems is taking longer for Dell as the offers made by the acquirers do not match its "valuation expectations", said a source.
Dell is also re-examining the contracts it has to transfer to Perot Systems to speed up the sale process, the source added, requesting anonymity.
Found in 1988 by former US presidential candidate Ross Perot, Perot Systems is one of top IT consulting firms providing services to hospitals and government departments. Dell had acquired it in 2009 for $3.9 billion.
While its acquisition resulted in Dell, the world's third-largest maker of personal computers, diversifying its portfolio, the company is now concentrating on building business in cloud computing, a key reason behind the acquisition of EMC.
The company's founder, Michael Dell, is currently trying to transform it into full-fledged enterprise computing services provider. Dell became a private company in 2013 after Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake went for a "leveraged buyout" of the company in a deal worth $25 billion.
Dell aims to get an investment-grade rating by trimming its debt load in the "first 18-24 months of its merger with EMC."
