Cognizant acquires US-based Lev to boost its digital marketing capabilities

By Narinder Kapur

  • 25 Mar 2020
Credit: Reuters

Nasdaq-listed information technology services major Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has acquired Lev, a US-based digital marketing consultancy and Salesforce specialist.

Cognizant said in a statement the acquisition would help firm strengthen its digital marketing capabilities and enhance its Salesforce-related offerings.

The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of this year. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Lev, set up in 2006 in Indianapolis, provides custom cloud solutions that allow marketers to use personal references, automation and data to improve their customer connections. The company also provides clients with strategic consulting, technical optimisation and application integration, among other services.

“It will expand Cognizant's consulting capabilities to help marketers implement Marketing Cloud, personalize customer connections and, in turn, generate better leads,” Greg Hyttenrauch, president for digital systems and technology at Cognizant, said.

Separately, Lev chief executive officer Michael Burton said the move would help both companies provide a wider offering and technological capabilities to their clients.

The acquisition is the third Cognizant has made this year as it seeks to ramp up its offerings to its customers. Last month, it announced that it was planning to acquire the French operations of EI-Technologies, a Paris-based privately held digital technology consulting firm and Salesforce specialist.

It also acquired Code Zero Consulting, a supplier of consulting and implementation services for cloud-based configure-price-quote (CPQ) and billing solutions. Cognizant said the Code Zero acquisition would help it enhance its cloud solutions portfolio and Salesforce CPQ and billing capabilities. It did not reveal the financial details of these two transactions.

It has also made several other acquisitions in the past couple of years. In May 2019, it bought Irish financial software firm Meritsoft for an undisclosed amount to expand its software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. It also completed at least five buyouts in 2018, including content firm Mustache and the US-based Bolder Healthcare Solutions.

Last month, Cognizant also announced that former Britannia Industries managing director and CEO Vinita Bali would join its board of directors. Bali is also a board member at agribusiness company Bunge Ltd and global portfolio medical technology firm Smith & Nephew Plc. She is also on the board of the India-listed Syngene International Ltd and analytics company CRISIL Ltd.