Top five Indian IT services companies, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro, have a war chest of $3.7 billion in liquid assets at their disposal.

Industry experts are unanimous that $3.7 billion worth of liquid assets offers greater flexibility to large IT players to grow at a faster pace, step on the gas when it comes to investments, and go after large deals.

"Small to large-sized acquisitions are definitely on the cards, and these are likely to be supported through cash and stock. What makes the position of the Indian companies stronger is the fact that the debt component of these companies is almost negligible," said an analyst.

The IT fraternity's fixation with M&As was evident in 2006 with the value of deals touching $2.04 billion in the first 10 months, compared with $1.3 billion last year.

Source: 1

Prashanth Rai