Infosys: Key events since inception

Here are some major events in the history of Infosys, which shocked investors last month by missing annual sales guidance and forecasting lower-than-expected sales growth for the fiscal year that started on April 1.

1981: Infosys is set up by N.R. Narayana Murthy and six other engineers in Pune with an initial capital of $250, mostly borrowed from their spouses.

1983: Relocates corporate headquarters to Bangalore, one of the first software companies to set up operations in the city that becomes India's Silicon Valley.

1993: Lists on Indian exchanges and is among first in India to introduce employee stock-option plan, a move to attract and retain talent.

1999: Becomes first Indian company to list on Nasdaq, raising the profile of the Indian outsourcing industry in the United States.

2002: Murthy hands over chief executive role to co-founder Nandan Nilekani. Murthy becomes chairman. Revenue reaches $500 million. Company launches back-office outsourcing services unit, Progeon.

2005: Launches offer of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) against existing local shares in $1 billion deal, at the time the biggest conversion of Indian shares into ADRs.

2006: Murthy steps down as chairman after 25 years at the helm of the firm after reaching the company's retirement age of 60, continues as non-executive chairman and mentor.

2007: Infosys co-founder and chief operating officer Kris Gopalakrishnan takes over as chief executive from Nilekani, who takes up the role of co-chairman.

2008: Announces $700 million-plus bid to acquire British consulting firm Axon, but drops out of race after smaller domestic rival HCL Technologies makes a higher offer.

2009: The chief executive of Infosys's back-office outsourcing arm, Amitabh Chaudhry, quits in rare departure by senior official. Company's headcount surpasses 100,000. Co-chairman Nandan Nilekani resigns to join Indian government to launch nationwide biometric identity card programme.

2010: Crosses $5 billion revenue mark.

2011: Co-founder and chief operating officer S.D. Shibulal named chief executive and his predecessor becomes executive co-chairman. Murthy retires as non-executive chairman and veteran banker K.V. Kamath, an independent director of Infosys, takes over as non-executive chairman. Board member and human resources chief T.V. Mohandas Pai quits.

2011: Company says it received a subpoena from a grand jury in a US district court that requires the company to provide certain documents and records related to B1 business visas. B1 business visas allow companies to send their employees to the United States for short-term business purposes.

2012: Heads of its business units serving the finance and manufacturing sectors swap jobs, a sign that both are contenders to take the chief executive's post when it opens in 2015.

2012: Company says it has been told by the US Attorney's office that it and some staff are targets of investigation over its sponsorship and use of short-term US business visas.

2012: Says under scrutiny from US Department of Homeland Security for likely errors in employer eligibility documents of its staff working in the United States.

Copyright: Thomson Reuters 2012