Freeborders, a provider of technology solutions and outsourcing from China, has announced the acquisition of ITK Solutions, an IT management consulting firm specializing in technology project delivery for financial services companies. ITK Solutions will expand Freeborders' onshore team of experts in the financial services industry, a key growth area for Freeborders.
Headquartered in New York City, ITK Solutions provides expert IT management in delivering technology solutions to financial institutions. The acquisition of ITK Solutions will also bring a top-tier client list of global banks, investment banks, and hedge funds to Freeborders.
"The ITK Solutions team brings an outstanding track record to Freeborders and we see the financial services market as a huge opportunity for China IT outsourcing leaders in 2006," said Freeborders co-CEO Ramsey Walker. "The quality of the ITK Solutions team is one of the main drivers of this deal. ITK management has many decades of experience with top-tier financial services firms."
According to a November 9, 2005 report by Gartner entitled "What Chinese IT Services Providers Must Do to Succeed In the Global Market," it states, "Many buyers of IT services have gone beyond cost as the main issue and are seeking other areas of value, such as unique domain expertise and experience in customers' specific industries."
The ITK Solutions acquisition is the second announcement since September signaling Freeborders' growing presence in the financial services technology market. Freeborders secured $20 million in expansion capital last September from FTVentures, whose Global Partner Network contains 38 of the largest financial institutions in the world, Internet Capital Group, and TAL Investments. Freeborders has also become one of the first CMMI Level 5 certified companies in China and completed the first phase of expansion at its Shenzhen technology center, increasing capacity to over 600 seats. The ITK Solutions acquisition completes the first phase of Freeborders' expansion of its North American and European client delivery teams in financial services.
For ITK Solutions, the acquisition offers broad benefits to its current customers by combining the cost and quality advantage of Freeborders' offshore team in Shenzhen, China with ITK's onshore expertise in project management and financial services applications.
"Freeborders gives us a tremendous technology development team that will deliver significant cost and time savings to our customers and enable us to offer services on a much larger scale than ever before," said Susan Kirchhoff, ITK Solutions' founding partner. "ITK's onshore expertise and Freeborders' offshore development talent will benefit our customers in a myriad of ways."
ITK Solutions will exist as a wholly-owned, co-branded subsidiary of Freeborders.
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