Contxto – Argentine unicorn Globant recently acquired the Peruvian company, Belatrix Software. No, I’m not talking about Harry Potter here.
To increase its presence in the country, Belatrix will merge over 10,000 employees into Globant’s workforce.
Allegedly valued over US$3.7 billion, Globant concluded the purchase of Belatrix with a US$70 million price tag. Following this, Globant’s main goal is to solidify its regional operations and enhance its product by implementing cloud and AI-powered processes to its solutions.
With the acquisition comes a big portfolio of clients including Banco de Crédito del Perú. In turn, this will give Globant a really nice presence in the market.
A history of acquisitions
Back in January, Globant also acquired Avanxo, known for its cloud computing services and for its recognition as Amazon Web Services’ most valuable partner.
According to an interview between SemanaEconómica and Globant’s co-founder Martín Umarán, both Avanxo and Belatrix complement the Argentine startup’s knowledge and service offerings. Both also reinforce the great traction it has independently developed over time.
Globant specifically partners with other Latin American companies. This is particularly due to seamless integration and cultural fit among ventures with similar roots and backgrounds.
Along those lines, Belatrix’s deep expertise in agile methodology represents an important synergy for the Globant team. Now, although Globant has a significant office and presence in Peru, Belatrix’s is way larger, which justifies the reason behind the acquisition. Drama-free mergers and acquisitions for the win.
Also, Globant has a wider reach in the U.S. market. In the end, this will certainly help Belatrix obtain more clients through the holding company.
Both brands will continue to co-exist for a while. However, the plan is to gradually merge everything under one unified Globant banner. From there, the Argentine company will pursue a more aggressive strategy in the Peruvian market.
First, Globant will standardize and familiarize itself with both cultures. After this, it plans to develop stronger tech resources as well as sales teams.
Tech optimization
Tech-wise, the company is always looking for ways to optimize processes through AI, as well. For instance, as part of its banking offering, it created an algorithm to detect when customers are no longer alive. With this, it can stop charging deceased clients for services.
Other clients include Novartis, for which Globant developed a facial recognition project allowing users to self-diagnose psoriasis based on a selfie. For Disney, Globant also created an optimization tool to predict lines in theme parks. This way, it can “drive” people to other less-crowded attractions.
Apart from banking, other industries willing and constantly looking to improve its processes through tech include insurance and logistics.
Finally, the founder said Latin America has a lot of untapped potential in the upcoming years.
“Today Latin America has a fabulous entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Umarán. “To reduce the gap [of talent generation], governments need to invest in education, in science engineering technology mathematics (STEM) fields.”
Finally, he announced Acámica, another Globant investment. To prepare the next generation of techies, Acámica is a school specializing in tech skills and literacy. It allows students to learn everything from UX/UI design to data science. This will commence soon in Peru, according to Umarán.
-VC
