HCL Technologies (HCLTech) has announced the acquisition of the Telco Solutions Business from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for a total purchase price of up to $160 million. The all-cash deal includes $15 million in incentives based on performance in FY25. This acquisition is expected to strengthen HCLTech’s engineering, AI, and cloud-native offerings for the telecom industry. The Telco Solutions Business supports over 1 billion devices across 200+ deployments globally, enabling operations support systems, home subscriber servers, and 5G subscriber data management with advanced AI-led closed-loop network automation.
The acquisition will deepen HCLTech’s capabilities in the telecom industry, allowing the company to accelerate network transformation, Network as a Service (NaaS), and AI-led autonomous networking. As part of the deal, nearly 1,500 engineering and telecom specialists from 39 countries will join HCLTech’s global delivery team, helping to scale the business. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in about six months.
HCLTech’s chief growth officer, Anil Ganjoo, expressed excitement about the opportunity, stating that the company is uniquely positioned to empower communication service providers (CSPs) to realize their transformation into technology companies. The integration of the HPE team and their market-proven intellectual property will strengthen HCLTech’s product-aligned model and accelerate the shift toward higher-value, IP-led services and non-linear growth.
Rami Rahim, executive vice president at HPE, noted that HCLTech has a compelling vision for enabling CSPs, which will harness the Telco Solutions business’ momentum and track record of customer success to accelerate innovation and customer impact. This acquisition is the second major deal between HCLTech and HPE, following an earlier transaction in 2024 in which HCLTech acquired certain assets from HPE’s Communications Technology Group.
The acquisition is expected to further establish HCLTech as a leading player in the telecom industry, with a strong portfolio of engineering, AI, and cloud-native offerings. With the addition of the Telco Solutions Business, HCLTech will be well-positioned to help CSPs navigate the evolving telecom landscape and capitalize on emerging opportunities in areas such as 5G, IoT, and AI. Overall, the deal is expected to drive growth and innovation in the telecom industry, with HCLTech at the forefront of this transformation.