Paul Hermelin
Capgemini CEO Paul Hermelin says merger will give the company new status in US market Reuters

French IT services company Capgemini plans to buy the IGATE Corp for $4bn (£2.64bn, €3.7bn) in cash, the group said on Monday.

US-based IGATE, a technology and services company that is also active in financial services, retail, healthcare and manufacturing, posted revenues of $1.3bn in 2014.

Capgemini said it would pay $48 a share for the company which will significantly increase its presence in the US.

Capgemini said that increasing demand in the US would support rising revenues: North America was its strongest performing region in the first quarter of 2015, where revenues increased 34% on the same period last year.

The merger has been agreed by the boards of both companies as well as the majority of IGATE shareholders.

Capgemini will fund the merger with a mixture of cash and capital, raised from the issue of more shares.

"It will give us a new status on the American market," said Paul Hermelin,Capgemini chief executive, adding that the company has not planned any other major purchases in in the next two years.