Firm Counsels Wipro in $500M Acquisition of Appirio

Hughes Hubbard served as legal counsel to India-based IT company Wipro in its acquisition of a U.S.-based cloud services company for $500 million.
 
Wipro announced on Oct. 20, 2016 that it signed a definitive agreement to purchase Appirio in a cash transaction. The deal, expected to be completed by the end of the year, will create one of the world's largest cloud transformation practices.
 
"In an increasingly digital world, as consumer behaviors and expectations continue to be reshaped by experiences, companies are recognizing that they need to transform how they engage with customers and employees by leveraging the power of the Cloud," said Abidali Neemuchwala, CEO of Wipro. "Appirio and Wipro are coming together to unlock transformational synergies in the applications space and help enterprises create new business models."
 
Wipro will merge its existing cloud applications programs, including Salesforce and Workday, under the Appirio brand. Chris Barbin, CEO of Appirio, will head the new expanded entity.
 
Founded in 2006, Indianapolis-based Appirio has 1,250 employees worldwide, with offices in San Francisco, Dublin, London, Jaipur and Tokyo. Its clients include brands like Coca-Cola, eBay, Facebook, Home Depot and Sony PlayStation.
 
Wipro has offices in Bangalore, India and Somerset, New Jersey and employs more than 170,000 people serving clients across six continents.
 
The acquisition made headlines in Bloomberg, The Deal Pipeline, Law360 and other media outlets.
 
Chuck Samuelson leads the HHR team, which includes Gerold Niggemann, Bill Kolasky, Jerry Harrison, Shane Stroud, Jim Delaney, Ali Stoeppelwerth, Ariel Woldar and John Dunn.