When will LTIMindtree start delivering on its merger promise?

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: In the early days of the integration between second-tier technology services companies Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) and Mindtree, the LTI team went out of its way to make the acquired company’s staff comfortable. “It appeared to be very democratic.

There were lots of meetings and they took our inputs on everything to evolve a new structure," said a former employee, who did not want to be identified. “Eventually, however, the bosses at L&T (the construction and engineering parent) called the shots," said the executive, who quit to join another tech services company even as the integration was on. If mergers are punctuated by certain traits—culture clash, leadership attrition, doubts about synergies, tepid growth, and so on—the merger of LTI with Mindtree to form LTIMindtree has seen it all.

Nearly two years after the integration was initiated and 18 months after they started working as a joint entity (from April 2023), murmurs of the stark cultural differences between the entrepreneurial mindset-driven Mindtree and old economy-backed LTI haven’t died down. Almost 20 senior executives have quit, many ostensibly because of cultural differences and overlapping roles. Decision-making has apparently suffered, affecting client conversations.

Consequently, the joint entity has been able to add only $700 million of revenue in the last two years. Making things worse, the integration has been taking place at a time when the macro environment is challenging. Client spending slowed due to high interest rates, high inflation, global economic uncertainty, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.