Capgemini's $3.3 Billion Acquisition of WNS Sours Investor Sentiment: Here's Why

French information technology giant Capgemini on Monday announced the acquisition of New York-listed business process management company WNS Global Services. The deal will see Capgemini buying $3.3 billion worth of securities for WNS, which, according to the company, will help expand the range of AI tools it offers.

“Capgemini’s acquisition of WNS will provide the Group with the scale and vertical sector expertise to capture that rapidly emerging strategic opportunity created by the paradigm shift from traditional BPS to Agentic AI-powered Intelligent Operations,” said Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini.

The purchase price, translating to $76.50 per WNS share, represents a 17% premium compared to its last closing price on July 3 and does not include WNS's financial debt, Capgemini said. It added that it has secured €4.0 billion in bridge financing, which also covers gross debt obligations of $0.4 billion and the redemption of a €0.8 billion bond maturing in June 2025. The company plans to refinance €1.0 billion using available cash and cover the remainder through new debt issuance.

For Q2 2025, Capgemini expects slightly improved year-on-year growth compared to the -0.4% reported in Q1, with its H1 2025 operating margin anticipated to remain stable at 12.4%. The company has maintained its 2025 financial outlook, targeting revenue growth between -2.0% and +2.0% at constant currency, an operating margin of 13.3% to 13.5%, and organic free cash flow of around €1.9 billion. The transaction is expected to increase Capgemini’s normalized EPS by 4% before synergies in 2026 and by 7% post-synergies in 2027.

“Together we will create a leader in Intelligent Operations, uniquely positioned to support organisations in their AI-powered business process transformation, blending the critical capabilities needed from consulting, technology and platforms to deep process and industry expertise,” Ezzat said.

Capgemini added that the deal will help meet client demand for AI-driven process transformation by boosting efficiency and agility through hyper-automation. It is also expected to create cross-selling opportunities and strengthen the company’s position in the growing Intelligent Operations market.

"With combined revenues of €1.9 billion in 2024 in Digital BPS, this will strengthen Capgemini’s ability to accompany clients on their business and technology transformation journeys," the company said.

WNS CEO Keshav R. Murugesh said, “By combining our deep domain and process expertise with Capgemini’s global reach, cutting-edge Gen AI and Agentic AI capabilities, a robust partner ecosystem, and advanced technology platforms, we are creating a powerful proposition that accelerates enterprise reinvention."

WNS serves companies like United Airlines, Aviva, and McCain Foods, and has achieved strong average revenue growth of over 9% in constant currency over the past three years, reaching $1.27 billion in FY25 with an 18.7% operating margin. For FY2026, WNS is targeting revenue growth of 7% to 11%, supported by global demand for strategic partners in business transformation.

Investor Worries

However, following the announcement of the deal, Capgemini's Paris-listed stock fell around 5%, making it one of the biggest losers on Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index. It was trading at €137.40, down over 5.40%.

This came as Morgan Stanley warned that the deal may limit Capgemini’s balance sheet flexibility without significantly impacting its financials, according to Reuters. The brokerage also flagged investor concerns over the rise of generative AI, which could disrupt the traditionally staff-heavy business process outsourcing (BPO) sector — potentially hurting Capgemini’s revenues and exposing it to new competition.

“We expect investors to be able to see the opportunity that could come from disrupting BPO with Gen AI, but think some evidence will be needed to convince the market WNS is the right vehicle,” Morgan Stanley said.