WNS Holdings set to bag Aviva's BPO operations

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: WNS Holdings appears to have emerged as the highest bidder for insurance giant Aviva’s BPO operations — Aviva Global Services (AGS) — with an offer of over $200 million. The deal covers acquisition of Aviva’s captive unit, outsourced operations parked with vendors and an assured business from the UK-based insurance firm for a five-year period, sources said. Private equity giant Warburg Pincus-controlled WNS is believed to have pipped rival outsourcing firm, EXL Services, and a multinational player — rumoured to be Capgemini — in a rather prolonged bidding process that marks the successful sale of a large captive BPO unit in the country. When completed, WNS is set to absorb around 6,500 employees of Aviva’s consolidated operations spread across Bangalore, Pune, Noida, Chennai and Colombo. Among recent deals, this is complex, not only because of the complications associated with a captive unit, but also because it involves the consolidation of multiple legal entities.