In a statement, the board said it saw the bid as a "positive endorsement of the company's strengths and welcomes EDS' interest."

Plano, Texas-based EDS has offered 204.5 rupees (4.58 dollars) a share as part of an effort to buy a 52 percent stake in the company listed in India.

Jerry Rao, chairman and chief executive of MphasiS, said: "We are supportive of this transaction and look forward to its successful closure."

MphasiS shares were down 2.30 rupees or 1.07 percent at 213.5 in mid-afternoon trade Tuesday while the benchmark Sensex index was up 54.2 points or 0.47 percent at 11,618.65.

Bangalore-based MphasiS runs call centres and has more than 12,000 employees, including about 11,000 in India, focused on the transport, financial services, technology and healthcare sectors.

"This offer is complementary to our overall strategy to enhance EDS's presence and capabilities in India," said EDS chairman and chief executive Mike Jordan in a statement.

The move would boost EDS's presence in India where it can take advantage of the pool of skilled labour and lower employment costs.

Indian software and service export revenues are forecast to climb to 23.4 billion dollars for the year to March 2006 from 17.7 billion dollars in the previous 12 months, according to an industry report in February.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) tipped India's software industry to reach a target of 60 billion dollars in sales by 2010.

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