Capgemini shares moved up 11 per cent today on reports that Wipro, the Indian IT services giant, wants to buy the company.

Wipro is in "hectic negotiations" with bankers over financing a deal which would value Capgemini up to $7bn, the Hindustan Times reports. A bid for the French IT services firm is expected by the end of January, the paper says.

Now for the caveats. A $7bn valuation pans out a €48 a share, a nice premium on today's closing price of €45. But as Jonathan Crozier, an analyst with WestLB in London, told Bloomberg, Capgemini shares traded at €59 in April this year, so "48 euros looks a bit opportunistic". Quite.

And, as the Hindustan Times notes, Wipro may find it difficult to raise funds in the wake of America's credit-crunching sub prime loan debacle. ®

Related stories

Capgemini ‘not talking to Wipro’ (27 December 2007)
Capgemini makes HMRC job cuts (13 November 2007)
Cap Gemini twins with Google to punt online apps (10 September 2007)
Former Wipro salesman sues for £1m in commission (9 March 2007)