Article Posted on : - Nov 04, 2009

NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian IT firm Mahindra Satyam has said it will collaborate with Swedish defence firm Saab to develop applications and technology in India for the defence and security market.

The multi-year collaboration would allow the companies to jointly address the Battlefield Management System (BMS) for the Indian Army, Mahindra Satyam said in a statement on Tuesday.

Both parties intend to work together for Indian BMS programme, the statement said.

The company did not comment on the size of the deal. But sources said the deal is in the range of $ 400-500 million and is spread over five years.

Analysts feel this is one of the big breaks Mahindra Satyam was looking for. This is definitely the biggest deal bagged by Mahindra Satyam (earlier Satyam Computer Services) in its new avatar.

�This relationship will jump start our foray in mission critical areas of defence,� Mahindra Satyam CEO C P Gurnani said.

�We view this relationship with Mahindra Satyam as a strategic meeting of two highly skilled teams believing in technical and engineering excellence,� Saab President and CEO Ake Svensson said.