Chakkilam Infotech, an independent software testing services company from Hyderabad, today announced the acquisition of Cigniti Inc of the US, in a $2.4-million (approximately Rs 12 crore) stock-swap deal.

Based in Irving, Texas, Cigniti offers consulting and testing services mainly to clients in the US and had revenue of $ 18 million last year, the company said in a release.

"The Cigniti acquisition will help us offer more of our high-end test consulting services to clients in the US. This makes us the country's largest independent testing services company in terms of revenue," Chakkilam Infotech executive vice-president for operations Sriram Rajaram claimed in the statement.

Cigniti complements Chakkilam’s expertise in the areas like test consulting, test management, test automation and performance testing. The combined entity will have more than 600 resources globally and a revenue run rate of $22 million (Rs 108 crore). Chakkilam claims that this acquisition makes it the country's largest independent testing services company in terms of revenue.

"Software companies all over the world are looking to engage with testing labs offering the whole gamut of services. Joining forces with Chakkilam will enable us to leverage each other's strengths. We are aiming to be a global leader in the independent testing services space in the next few years," Cigniti Inc CEO Sudhakar P said.

According to Gartner and Nasscom forecasts, independent software testing is a niche market that is growing faster than the overall IT services market. A recent 2011 Nasscom report forecast that independent testing services will grow to $ 13-15 billion by 2020 in the country at a compounded average growth rate over 20 percent.

"By combining the passion, creativity and technology of two leading-edge companies, we will continue to drive innovations that will help organisations everywhere," Chakkilam managing director CV Subramanyam said.