Carlyle Group Acquires Spanish BPO Firm Digitex, Plans Further Expansion

Private equity major Carlyle Group has acquired a 90% stake in Spanish business process outsourcing (BPO) provider Digitex Grupo with an established presence in Spain and across Latin America. A subsidiary of Altra Investments since 2009, Digitex employs more than 16,000 people across Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
For Carlyle, this is the third acquisition in BPO sector after Italy-based Comdata in December 2015 and U.K.-based PA Consulting in September 2015. With these three units, Carlyle hopes to expand throughout Europe and Americas.
According to Marco De Benedetti, managing director and co-head of Carlyle Europe Partners, Digitex will soon expand to Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.
Digitex has experience in integrated management solutions and business processes, customer care, back-office support and IT process consulting. A large majority of its clients are operating in telecommunications, financial services, insurance, industrials, and energy.
Over the last five years, Digitex has reported an average 9.1% and 13.8% increase in revenues and EBITDA, respectively. The company posted $193 million in revenue for 2015.
“Carlyle’s investment in Digitex will help support the company’s expansion ambitions,” said Benedetti. “It is a strong business in the BPO industry, with well-run operations in Europe and Latin America.”
Angel Parra, Digitex CEO, stated that the merger with Carlyle would allow his company to expand geographical footprint and client base, in both Europe and the Americas. “This transaction makes us stronger and positions us well to continue innovating and delivering high-value-added BPO and customer care solutions to our clients,” said Parra.