French MNC Capgemini SE is set to acquire IT outsourcing company WNS Holdings for $3.3 billion, in a bid to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) operations, as per a Bloomberg report on July 7. 

It added that Capgemini beat out rivals at the bid, buying out the smaller US-listed firm for $76.50 per share, a premium of about 28 per cent to WNS’s average price over the past 90 days. This is also a 17 per cent premium compared to their last closing price on July 3 and does not include WNS's financial debt, another Reuters report added, citing the company release. 

The deal is set to be closed by the end of 2025. Capgemini expects it to boost its earnings per share by about 4 per cent on a normalised basis in 2026.

Capgemini's shares fell 4 per cent by 0822 GMT, after touching their lowest price in more than two months.

The BB report noted that the move shows a rush for AI spending by IT services companies, the latest being Capgemini, and also Accenture Plc. recently. At the same time, their clients are exploring ways to improve efficiency throughout their operations.

The Reuters report added that the deal will allow Capgemini to create a consulting business service focused on helping enterprises improve their processes and cost efficiency using generative AI and agentic AI.

CEO Keshav Murugesh-led WNS serves over 600 clients (including Coca-Cola, United Airlines and T-Mobile) in 13 countries. WNS services include business process outsourcing and data analytics, was first reported by Reuters in April.

In April, the company reported better-than-anticipated quarterly earnings, though revenue declined slightly, the BB report added.

“WNS brings ... its high growth, margin accretive and resilient Digital Business Process Services (BPS) ... while further increasing our exposure to the US market,” Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat said in the statement.

(With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters)