Satyam Acquires Motorola Development Center in Malaysia

Satyam Computer Services, a large Indian outsourcer, is acquiring a software development center of Motorola's in Malaysia. The center is part of Motorola's Home and Networks Mobility business.

The assets of the center at Cyberjaya, and 128 staff currently employed there, will be integrated with Satyam's telecommunications practice, said T.R. Anand, global head of Satyam's practices for the telecommunications, infrastructure, media, entertainment, and semiconductor businesses.

The Motorola center, which does work in the area of network management around GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standards, will add to Satyam's product development services business, Anand said.

Besides providing development services for Motorola, the 128 staff at the center may down the line also work for other customers, Anand said. Motorola will however continue to get the same level of services it currently gets from the center, he added.

In line with its global strategy to focus on its core business, Motorola has decided it does not want to run the development center in Malaysia, Anand said.

After posting a US$397 million loss in the third quarter, Motorola announced plans last month to cut costs by $800 million in 2009, including by staff layoffs.

Satyam did not disclose how much it was paying for Motorola's Cyberjaya center. The transaction, subject to regulatory and other customary conditions, is expected to close by Dec. 31, the company said.

Satyam already provides product development services to Motorola's development centers in India in a number of areas including network management and handsets, Anand said.

The acquisition of the Motorola center in Malaysia is in line with Satyam's strategy to use the country as a key global services delivery location. The company already has over 500 staff in the country, and is investing in a new 6-hectare facility in Cyberjaya.