Infosys Is in Talks With Six Clients to Buy Technology Units

Infosys Technologies Ltd., India’s second-largest provider of software services, is in talks with five to six clients to buy their technology units, B. G. Srinivas, a senior vice president, said in an interview.

The company is in discussions with two customers in the U.S. and three to four in Europe, Srinivas said today by telephone from London, where he heads the Indian company’s operations in Europe and its global manufacturing-services unit.

Taking on the new businesses would boost business at Infosys as Chief Executive Officer S. Gopalakrishnan, 54, heads into the first year of declining sales since he helped found the company in 1981. He projected the slump in April as his biggest clients cut orders and delay spending on technology amid the worst recession since World War II.

Bangalore-based Infosys, which provides computer services and back-office support to clients including General Electric Co. and General Motors Corp., is also competing for almost $3 billion in contracts from manufacturing companies, Srinivas said. Each order is “typically” worth $200 million to $500 million, and more than one supplier may be selected for each, he said.

Infosys has risen 57 percent in Mumbai trading this year, compared with a 60 percent advance for the benchmark Bombay Sensitive Index. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India’s biggest provider of computer services, has climbed 62 percent.