Keane, a Boston-based IT services firm, announced today that it has entered into a merger agreement with Japan-based NTT Data, in which its parent company Keane International will merge with Knight Subsidiary Corporation, a unit of NTT Data. Keane will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTT Data as a result of the merger. “We are pleased with the transaction and the vital role that Keane will play in increasing NTT Data’s global footprint,” said Bob Khanna, Keane International board member and managing director of Citigroup Venture Capital International Technology Holdings, a majority owner of Keane International. Keane, which will remain in Boston, did not reveal the financial details of the transaction, though other media outlets have reported that NTT Data paid in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion for the firm. Japan-based NTT Data said the transaction will enable it to expand its U.S. footprint and acquire blue chip customers in the states.