IT服务行业：Persistent Systems收购Narro是否反映新逻辑？

reflect a new logic? reflective of a new industrial logic. Indeed, we have often seen consolidation like this inthe IT services sector. While the profiles of the buyer and seller inevitably lend a uniquenew avenues forgrowth,access tonewclients,newverticalmarkets,newexpertiseandrevenue/cost synergies.What strikes us most is what the acquirer is willing to payforthis listed asset, an IT services +33158980630derric.marcon@bernsteinsg.comRichard Nguyen +331 42 13 54 22richard.nguyen@bernsteinsg.com Kiran Shah, CFA companywithannual revenue of1bn and90%of its deliveryresources inIndia, Romaniaand the Philippines. The price differs significantly from the valuation assigned by equityinvestors, with a 140% premium being offered. The multiple implied by the deal (10.8xEV/CY25 adjusted EBIT)is also substantially higherthan the current multiples of manyother listed IT services firms (Exhibit 1). In our view, this again reflects equity investors'excessivepessimism-apessimismnotsharedbyindustrialentities:Alten(O,PT135)Klanik; Accenture (NC)/Faculty;Infosys (NC)/Stratus/Optimum Healthcare; Cognizant(NC)/3Cloud/Astreya)ortheprivateequityfirms associated withthem (OpenAIDeploymentCompany,Artefact). +442035471533kiran.shah@bernsteinsg.com IT services industry: he believes that productivity gains achieved through Al will be offset byan increase in project volume. In an increasingly digital and Al-driven world-a reality that isalready here, not just a prospect for the future-this view is widely shared by other players inthe sector. We believethatthe2Q26figures releasedbyIT services companies in the coming weekswillbe consistent withthe trendsobserved in1Q26.While thewarning issuedbyAccenture(NC) warrants monitoring,it does not in itself constitute a strong indicator,as Accenture hasso far been the only company to flag early signs of a slowdown in client decision-making atthe end of May (although we note that consulting orders for the quarter were actually solid). during previous recessions-reflectinginvestorfearsthatthese firms will be disruptedbyAl.Ourview isunchanged:thesecompanieswill adaptratherthanbedisrupted;productivitygainswillbeoffsetbyvolumegrowth; clientITbudgetswill notshrink dueto Al (clients willachieve more with at leastthe samebudget); and Al neither simplifies IT nor allows clientsto dowithoutITservicesfirms. outlookonthesector'sprospects andthefactthattheplayers'valuationsaretoolowrelativetothehighqualityandstrengthoftheir fundamentals. References to"Bernstein"orthe"Firm"in thesedisclosuresrelateto the following entities:Bernstein Institutional ServicesLLC (April1,2024onwards),Sanford C.Bernstein&Co.,LLC(preApril 1,2024),BernsteinAutonomousLLP,BSGFranceS.A.(April 1,2o24onwards)，SanfordC.Bernstein(HongKong)Limited盛博香港有限公司，SanfordC.Bernstein(Canada)Limited，SanfordC.Bernstein (India)Private Limited (SEBI registration no.INH000006378), Sanford C.Bernstein (Singapore)Private Limited,and SociéteGenérale. otherwise,forpurposesofthesedisclosures,referencestoBernstein's“affiliates"relatetobothSGandABandtheirrespectiveaffiliates. Pleasevisit:https://bernstein-autonomous.bluematrix.com/sellside/Disclosures.action.Or, you can also write to the Director of Compliance, Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, 245 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10167. RISKS Pleasevisit:https://bernstein-autonomous.bluematrix.com/sellside/Disclosures.action.Or, you can also write to the Director of Compliance, Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, 245 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10167. RATINGSDEFINITIONS,BENCHMARKSANDDISTRIBUTION EQUITYRATINGSDEFINITIONS Bernstein brand TheBernsteinbrandratesstocksbasedonforecastsofrelativeperformanceforthenext12monthsversustheS&P5ooforstocks listed onthe U.S.andCanadianexchanges,versus theBloomberg EuropeDeveloped MarketsLargeand MidCapPriceReturn IndexEUR (EDME)for stocks listedon the European exchanges and emerging markets exchanges outsideof the AsiaPacificregion,versustheBloombergJapanLargeandMidCapPriceReturnIndexUSD(JPL)forstockslistedontheJapaneseexchanges,andversustheBloombergAsiaex-JapanLargeandMidCapPriceReturn Index(ASiAX)forstockslistedontheAsian(ex-Japan)exchanges-unlessotherwisespecified. The Bernsteinbrand hasthreecategoriesof ratings: Outperform:Stockwilloutpacethemarketindexbymorethan15pp Market-Perform: Stock will perform in line with the market indexto within+/-15pp Underperform:Stockwilltrailtheperformanceofthemarketindexbymorethan15pp Not Rated:A rating assigned when the stock cannot be accuratelyvalued,orthe performance of the company accuratelyoneventsanddevelopments. Not Covered (NC) denotes companies that are not under coverage. Bernsteinbrandstockratingsarebasedona12-monthtimehorizon. Autonomousbrand-commonstocks AndFinancial ServicesIndex (BEBANKS)and BloombergEuropeDev MktFinancials Largeand Mid CapPriceRet Index EUR(EDMFi)indexfordevelopedEuropeanbanksandPayments,theBloombergEurope5OOInsurancelndex(BEiNSUR)forEuropeaninsurers,theS&P5oOandS&PFinancialsforUSba