Aegis plans to acquire Satyam BPO arm

ESSAR Group’s outsourcing arm, Aegis BPO, is set to approach Satyam Computer Services to buy its BPO operations. The company will submit an expression of interest (EoI) to Satyam within the next couple of days.
“Satyam BPO’s international clients and its presence in telecom, banking and financial services make it an attractive target,” said a person in the know of the development. A top Aegis executive, who declined to be identified, confirmed that the firm is interested in acquiring Satyam BPO. When contacted, the company said in a statement, “As a group, we constantly keep looking at growth opportunities. We would not like to comment on any specific transaction.”
Satyam BPO (formerly Nipuna Services), a wholly-owned arm of Satyam, has about 3,500-4,000 employees.
It reported revenues of Rs 55.6 crore for the quarter ended September 2008, down 8.65% over the same quarter of the previous year. Satyam BPO works with clients such as telecom firms BellSouth and Verizon, construction equipment firm Caterpillar and healthcare firm GlaxoSmithKline. It operates from delivery centres in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, apart from onsite delivery teams. Aegis BPO, which has revenues of about $450 million, has been on an acquisition spree, buying 11 companies in the last four years. In August 2008, it bought Nasdaq-listed offshoring firm PeopleSupport for Rs 1,057 crore.
The BPO firm has 30,000 employees in 31 locations worldwide. Aegis BPO claims to be the largest domestic BPO provider with a significant presence in telecom, banking and financial services.