Wipro pays $75 m to settle case with National Grid US

Wipro, leading IT services company, on Saturday said it has settled a lawsuit with National Grid US for $75 million which would impact its second quarter results.

In a regulatory filing, the company stated that formalities for withdrawal of the lawsuit are expected to be completed shortly.

"Wipro Limited has effected a settlement for the release of all claims under the lawsuit with National Grid US and a stipulation of discontinuance of the lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York," Wipro said in the filing.

National Grid US, part of British multinational electricity and gas utility company, had sued Wipro in 2017 seeking damages amounting to $140 million plus additional costs related to an alleged failure in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation project.

"The settlement has been effected for an amount of $75 million and is without admission of liability or wrongdoing of any kind by the parties," Wipro said. The formalities for withdrawal of the lawsuit are expected to be completed shortly, the IT firm said.

Wipro started working on the project in 2010 and complemented the implementation in 2014.

"National Grid has been a valued customer of Wipro for over a decade and both organisations have had a mutually beneficial relationship over the years. We believe that this settlement will be commercially beneficial for us and will help us remain focused on growth," the filing said.

Even though the company said that the settlement is expected to reflect in the financials of Wipro for the quarter ending September 30, 2018, Wipro didn't disclose the exact effect of the legal action.

Wipro had faced client related issues earlier also, including the insolvency of two of its telecom clients with a revenue contribution of around $50 million.