Happiest Minds Tech.

** IT consulting and services company Happiest Minds' shares HAPP.NS fall as much as 3.87% to 348.65 rupees apiece, a near-two-month low

** Stock slid 10.9% on Tuesday, extending losses after ITC ITC.NS announces plans to merge its unit ITC Infotech with HAPP

** HDFC Securities downgrades HAPP to "Add" from "Buy" and cuts the price target to 400 rupees from 400 rupees

** Deal price implies no takeover premium; the 15-month integration timeline brings uncertainty, plus there is no clarity on the retention plans of the existing management, says HDFC Securities

** While HAPP has fallen since the announcement, ITC ITC.NS has gained about 4.8% in two sessions

** HAPP shares are down 23.4%, and ITC is down 33.5% in 2026 so far, according to exchange data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

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Happiest Minds Technologies’ board approved a scheme to merge the company into ITC Infotech India, subject to statutory, regulatory, shareholder and creditor approvals. Promoters Ashok Soota and Ashok Soota Medical Research LLP signed an agreement to sell 22.106% of Happiest Minds to ITC Infotech for ₹1,329.7 crore in two tranches priced at ₹390 and ₹400 a share. A Moneycontrol report on August 27 had said ITC Infotech was likely to buy the promoter stake, while Happiest Minds responded on August 28 that it had no information requiring disclosure under Regulation 30. Under the scheme, Happiest Minds shareholders would receive 25 fully paid-up ₹10 shares of ITC Infotech for every 81 ₹2 shares held, and ITC Infotech shares would be listed on BSE and NSE once the scheme became effective. As of June 30, Happiest Minds had consolidated turnover of ₹628.51 crore and net worth of ₹1,775.50 crore, compared with ITC Infotech’s ₹1,316.82 crore turnover and ₹2,315.67 crore net worth.

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Happiest Minds Technologies' board approved a scheme to merge the listed software company into ITC Infotech India, subject to regulatory, shareholder and creditor approvals. Under the scheme, shareholders would receive 25 fully paid ITC Infotech shares for every 81 Happiest Minds shares, and ITC Infotech's shares would be listed on the BSE and NSE. Promoter Ashok Soota and Ashok Soota Medical Research LLP agreed to sell 22.106% of Happiest Minds to ITC Infotech for ₹1,329.7 crore in two tranches priced at ₹390 and ₹400 per share; ITC Infotech could nominate one additional non-executive director after the first tranche. The scheme provided for Happiest Minds to be dissolved without being wound up, while its outstanding non-convertible debentures were to be redeemed by September 26. Happiest Minds reported FY26 revenue of ₹2,315 crore and an EBITDA margin of 20.3%, with digital engineering contributing about 78% of revenue. At June 30, ITC Infotech's consolidated assets stood at ₹3,743.94 crore and turnover at ₹1,316.82 crore, against Happiest Minds' assets of ₹3,821.86 crore and turnover of ₹628.51 crore.

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Happiest Minds announced definitive agreements to merge with ITC Infotech, creating a technology-services enterprise with pro-forma FY26 revenue of about ₹7,033 crore and a stated target of US$1 billion in annual revenue by FY28. ITC Infotech will acquire an aggregate 22.1% stake in Happiest Minds from promoter and promoter entities for ₹1,330 crore, while Happiest Minds shareholders will receive 25 ITC Infotech shares for every 81 shares held. ITC Limited will become promoter of the merged company with an estimated 73.4% stake; the transaction requires shareholder, competition, stock-exchange and NCLT approvals and is expected to take about 15 months. On August 28, Happiest Minds had said it had no information requiring disclosure under Regulation 30 after a report that ITC Infotech might buy the promoter stake.

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Happiest Minds Technologies' board approved a share-swap merger with ITC Infotech India, under which ITC Infotech would acquire a 22.1% minority stake from the promoter and promoter entities for ₹1,330 crore across two tranches. The transaction valued Happiest Minds at ₹405 a share and provided for 25 ITC Infotech shares for every 81 Happiest Minds shares. The combined business had pro forma FY26 revenue of ₹7,033 crore, adjusted EBITDA margin of about 18.1% and more than 19,000 employees. ITC Infotech had FY26 revenue of ₹4,718 crore and more than 13,000 employees, while Happiest Minds' FY26 revenue was ₹2,315 crore. Happiest Minds' Q1 FY27 revenue growth was 6.7% year on year, after 9.2% constant-currency growth in FY26.

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Happiest Minds Technologies’ board approved a scheme to merge the company into ITC Infotech India, subject to statutory, regulatory, shareholder and creditor approvals. Under the scheme, Happiest Minds shareholders would receive 25 fully paid ITC Infotech shares for every 81 Happiest Minds shares, and the resulting ITC Infotech shares would be listed on BSE and NSE. Separately, promoter Ashok Soota and Ashok Soota Medical Research LLP signed an agreement to sell 22.106% of Happiest Minds to ITC Infotech for ₹1,329.7 crore in two tranches priced at ₹390 and ₹400 a share. Happiest Minds generated revenue of ₹2,315 crore in FY26, with digital engineering contributing about 78% of sales. Its revenue in the June quarter of FY27 was ₹629 crore, while its EBITDA margin was 21.7%.

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Adds details and analyst quote from paragraph 5

By Urvi Dugar and Sai Ishwarbharath B

Aug 31 (Reuters) - India's ITC ITC.NS said on Monday its IT unit will buy a 22.1% stake in Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS for about 13.3 billion rupees ($139.76 million) in cash, and that ITC Infotech would list on the BSE BSEL.NS and the NSE after the deal.

The combined entity will set a target of $1 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending 2028, ITC said in an exchange filing.

The ITC deal, part of a merger with the IT services provider, will take between three and eight months to complete.

Indian IT firms are racing to bulk up their capabilities through big-ticket buyouts to combat AI-led disruption.

Coforge COFO.NS acquired engineering company Encora in a $2.3 billion deal last year and Persistent Systems PERS.NS plans to acquire Germany-based Nagarro for $1.1 billion.

"This should be viewed as an opportunity for backdoor listing for ITC Infotech and get to (the) $1 billion revenue figure faster. The midcaps will continue to outperform large caps due to (smaller) size, limited offerings plus geographical risks," said Gaurav Vasu, founder of market intelligence firm UnearthInsight.

Reuters reported earlier this month that competition between India's mid-sized IT firms and larger rivals has turned fierce as AI lowers barriers and levels the playing field.

Shareholders of Happiest Minds will receive 25 shares of ITC Infotech for every 81 shares held in the company. ITC will be the promoter of the merged company, with a 73.4% stake, Happiest Minds said in a separate release.

($1 = 95.1625 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Sai Ishwarbharath B in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara and Pooja Desai)

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July 27 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL PROFIT 676 MILLION RUPEES

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 6.29 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE5cV2QJ

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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July 13 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH - CLARIFIES ON REPORT "ITC INFOTECH EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER TO ACQUIRE MAJORITY STAKE IN HAPPIEST MINDS"

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH - CO, AS PART OF ITS BUSINESS STRATEGY, KEEPS EXPLORING VARIOUS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH - COMPANY NOT IN A POSITION TO COMMENT ON THE IMPACT OF THE ARTICLE

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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** Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS shares rise 3.6% to 357.6 rupees, their biggest intraday pct gain in more than 3 weeks

** Stock snaps an eight-day losing streak

** IT firm launches its proprietary agentic AI development platform Rel(AI)Build

** Stock rated "buy" on avg; median PT 410 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** Stock down 24% YTD

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru)

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March 26 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS AND UNIFYAPPS ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

• PARTNERSHIP FOR ENTERPRISE AI ADOPTION

Source text: ID:nBSE6Xqb0t

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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March 20 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• CLARIFICATION ON NEWS ITEM APPEARING IN MEDIA

• CLARIFIES ON REPORT "EQT, PARTNERS GROUP & ITC INFO EYE A CHUNK OF ASHOK SOOTA'S HAPPIEST MINDS"

• STATES NOT PRIVY TO DISCUSSIONS REGARDING NEWS ITEM

Source text: ID:nBSE46YYJp

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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** Shares of Indian IT services provider Happiest Minds HAPP.NS jump by 6.49% to 362.65 rupees

** Co revised FY27 revenue growth expectations to 12.5%, from 10% earlier, citing "accelerating momentum on AI First strategy"

** Co on February 10 launched strategic initiative to reorient its operating model around AI

** All 6 analysts covering HAPP rate it as "buy" or "strong buy"; median PT is 583.50 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock down ~21% YTD

(Reporting by Abhirami G in Bengaluru)

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Sept 23 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• SEES NEGLIGIBLE IMPACT FROM H-1B VISA FEE HIKE

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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** Shares of Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS rise as much 6.6% to 641 rupees

** IT consultancy and services firm posts Y/Y rise in June-qtr consol profit and rev

** HAPP rated "buy" on average by 5 analysts; median target price is 672 rupees – data compiled by LSEG

** Stock up 13% YTD

(Reporting by Rudra Pratap Singh in Bengaluru)

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June 12 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• APPOINTS ANAND BALAKRISHNAN AS CFO

Source text: ID:nBSE7FntLh

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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March 26 (Reuters) - HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS CHAIRMAN: EXPECT HEALTHY ORGANIC REVENUE GROWTH IN FY26, FY27

• HAPPIEST MINDS CHAIRMAN: FY26, FY27 ORGANIC REVENUE GROWTH TO BE IN DOUBLE DIGITS

• HAPPIEST MINDS CEO: TO ANNOUNCE NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE IN NEXT 6-8 WEEKS

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March 20 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• ASHOK SOOTA RE-DESIGNATED AS CHAIRMAN & CHIEF MENTOR

• JOSEPH VINOD ANANTHARAJU RE-DESIGNATED AS CO-CHAIRMAN & CEO

Source text: ID:nBSE7HBvXm

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March 19 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES LTD - ASHOK SOOTA APPOINTED CHAIRMAN

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH - NAMES JOSEPH ANANTHARAJU AS CEO

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECH - NAMES VENKATRAMAN NARAYANAN AS MD, CFO

Source text: ID:nBSE9spdlw

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Feb 19 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• INTRODUCES PROPRIETARY GENAI RESEARCH COMPANION

Source text: ID:nBSE8RNKkR

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** Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS rises 3.3% to 719.30 rupees

** IT consulting and services co says it would buy entire Middle East business of Gavs Technologies for $1.7 mln

** Says acquisition will consolidate co's position within certain existing customers and grow its presence in Middle East

** Around 842,015 shares traded, 1.4x the 30-day avg

** HAPP fell 18% in 2024

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

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Jan 15 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• COLLABORATES WITH COCA-COLA BEVERAGES VIETNAM

Source text: ID:nBSE7Rm9gh

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** Shares of Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS are down 2.5%, hitting their lowest level since April 1

** IT consultancy and services firm posted 12.5% y/y drop in Q1 consol profit

** Stock on track to fall for fourth straight session, dropping around 3% in the period

** Nearly 1.2 mln shares traded, about 2x their 30-day avg

** HAPP down 15.8% so far in 2024

(Reporting by Nishit Navin)

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** Shares of IT firm Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS fall ~7% to 850 rupees

** Co's shares traded in 30 blocks at 838.00-849.55 rupees/share, lower than Monday's close of 917.35 rupees, as per LSEG data

** According to media reports, co's promoter and executive chairman, Ashok Soota initiated a block deal to sell 6% stake in co

** Stock set to snap a two-day winning streak, if trend holds

** Including session's losses, stock down ~5.5% YTD

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

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By Sai Ishwarbharath B

BENGALURU, May 22 (Reuters) - Mid-tier firms in India's $254 billion information technology sector took market share from industry goliaths in recent quarters as clients curtailed discretionary spending amid inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty, analysts said.

Unlike their larger rivals such as Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS and Infosys INFY.NS, mid-tier IT firms tend to focus on short-term deals aimed at helping clients cut costs rather than chase large-scale projects.

The practice has paid off in an environment of slowing demand in prominent markets such as North America and Europe.

LTIMindtree LTIM.NS, Coforge COFO.NS, Mphasis MBFL.NS and Persistent Systems PERS.NS are "increasingly viewed as challengers in (winning) Fortune 500 accounts, aiding the share gain process," Kotak Institutional Equities said.

The smaller companies could outperform their larger rivals further once discretionary spending improves, Kotak analysts Kawaljeet Saluja, Sathishkumar S and Vamshi Krishna said.

This should set the mid-tier IT firms up well as they try to win more budget-conscious clients in an economic backdrop where U.S. interest rates are expected to stay "higher for longer". Industry body Nasscom estimated overall revenue growth more than halved to 3.8% last financial year.

"In the current macro environment, clients are increasingly looking at service providers (that) deliver services at lower and predictable costs with better business outcomes," said Avinash Baliga, partner at consulting firm Avasant.

Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra and Mphasis CFO Manish Dugar confirmed the market share gains. India's larger IT firms did not respond to Reuters' requests seeking comment.

"We are able to hold our own and win against the larger piers as clients are looking for competency and not scale," Dugar told Reuters.

The market share of India's top five IT firms fell 17 basis points in 2023, reflecting the inroads made by the mid-tier IT firms, according to BNP Paribas data shared exclusively with Reuters. However, the top five IT firms still owned 88.35% of the market as of December 2023 among the top 10 firms.

On the stock market, share prices of Mphasis and Persistent Systems advanced 23.7% and 42.5% respectively in the last 12 months compared to a 16% gain in the broader Nifty IT Index.

In April, Infosys forecast fiscal 2025 revenue growth between 1% and 3% in constant currency terms, while most analysts had expected it to be at least in the range of 2% to 5%.

"Due to the sheer size they have reached, larger players have given muted guidance," said Ashok Soota, founder of mid-tier IT firm Happiest Minds Technologies HAPP.NS , which also gained market share. "We need to be humble about this as (our) market share is (relatively) small on the grand total."

(Reporting by Sai Ishwarbharath B; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Shri Navaratnam)

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May 16 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• PARTNERS WITH SOLVIO

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE8mFlKT

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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May 9 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• UNIT IN USA EXECUTED AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE 100% MEMBERSHIP INTEREST IN AUREUS TECH SYSTEMS LLC

• AGREEMENT FOR CASH CONSIDERATION OF $8.5 MILLION

• ACQUISITION IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE END OF JUNE 2024

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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May 7 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES LTD MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL PROFIT 719.8 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS 576.6 MILLION RUPEES

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES LTD MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 4.17 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 3.78 BILLION RUPEES

• HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES- DIVIDEND 3.25 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE9SGfdw

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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April 25 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• EXECUTED A SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 100% EQUITY INTEREST IN SHARE CAPITAL OF PURESOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES

• UPFRONT CONSIDERATION ON CLOSING 6.35 BILLION RUPEES

• DEFERRED CONSIDERATION OF UPTO 1.44 BILLION RUPEES

• DEFERRED CONSIDERATION PAYABLE AT THE END OF FY25 ON ACHIEVEMENT OF SET PERFORMANCE TARGETS

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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April 19 (Reuters) - Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPP.NS:

• EXECUTED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 100% STAKE IN MACMILLAN LEARNING INDIA

• COST OF ACQUISITION 45 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE70FL7X

Further company coverage: HAPP.NS

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