by Habib Beary In Bangalore

Indian software giant Wipro has signed an all-cash deal to make its first foreign acquisition.

Wipro, owned by India's richest man, Azim Premzi, has bought the global energy practice of American Management Systems for $26m, a US-based firm listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

AMS is a $1bn, global business and IT consulting firm whose customers include 38 state and provincial governments, most federal agencies and hundreds of companies in the Fortune 500.

In a statement, Wipro said the acquisiton would strengthen its technology service offerings to energy sector clients.

Broad range

Wipro's Energy & Utilities practice has been growing rapidly in the last few years, and boasts 1,000 consultants servicing clients across the US and Europe.

The acquisition brings to Wipro more than 50 client relationships across Europe and the US.

This client base includes the entire range of entities, including public power utilities and regional transmission companies.

Sudip Banerjee, president, enterprise solutions at Wipro Technologies, said: "This acquisition enhances our ability to deliver end-to-end IT solutions for players in the energy and utilities space, bolstered by a global delivery model."

Tim Matlack, currently senior vice-president, global energy practice of AMS will lead the combined energy and utilities practice of Wipro Technologies.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the global energy practice staff, who have worked very hard to build strong capabilities and can now leverage the significant global assets and presence of Wipro," he said.