Thinksoft Global Services Ltd, a software-testing service provider based in Chennai and listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange, is planning for acquisitions in India and United States of America (USA) to strengthen its presence in the segment.

The acquisition would be in the range of Rs 22 - 31 crore, said a senior executive from the company.

The company provides software testing services to the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) segment, and is looking for IT firms which have core competencies, intellectual property (IP) and a robust client base.

"The acquisition will be in the value range of $5-7 million. We have sufficient funds with us to invest in the acquisition and the process is expected to be completed in the current fiscal year," said Vanaja Arvind, executive director, Thinksoft Gobal.

Citing a recent Nasscom study on BFSI software testing market, she said the independent testing service market in which the company has its presence, is worth around $800 million in India, which would grow to $4.3 billion by 2020. The number of BFSI independent software testers is expected to increase from current 15,600 to 81,000 in next 10 years, she said.

Considering the emerging opportunities in the BFSI software testing segment, the company has to accelerate its momentum with new technology and IP creation.

"There is also a huge shortage in skilled manpower. We are looking at inorganic growth model to address some of the issues in time to grab the emerging opportunity," said Arvind.

The company would also increase its headcount from 720 employees at present to 1,000 by the middle of the next fiscal. Out of this, almost 100 more people would be deployed at its various offices before the end of this year. However, this would not include the headcount increase from the proposed acquisition.

It has been recording flat growth in financial performance during the last three years, owing to the financial meltdown in its focus markets of USA and Europe and the shooting cost of employees. The company expects a turnaround with the new developments, she said.

Thinksoft has posted a net profit of Rs 27 lakh for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, as against a net loss of Rs 94 lakh during the same period of previous year. The net sales stood at Rs 21.32 crore during the fourth quarter of 2010-11, compared to Rs 17.55 crore during the corresponding period of previous fiscal, an increase of 21.48 per cent.