Narayan AmmachchiIndian multinational conglomerate Essar Group is reportedly negotiating with a slew of private equity firms to sell its BPO arm Aegis. The equity firms offering to buy Aegis include KKR, Blackstone, Warburg Pincus, General Atlantic and Temasek, according to Indian television channel CNBC-TV18. Essar Group has not responded to the news report, which cited unnamed sources.
Aegis, which has delivery centers in Asia, Europe and Latin America, is one of the fastest growing Indian outsourcing firms. In Latin America alone, Aegis employs 7,000 people, with offices in Argentina, Peru and Costa Rica.
Aegis acquired the Costa Rican company People Support in 2005, and Action Line in Argentina in 2010, while, according to a statement issued earlier this year, the BPO firm is planning on establishing another delivery center in Brazil.
Most of Aegis’ Latin American delivery centers cater to U.S. clients in industry verticals such as banking, insurance, telecom, health, travel and hospitality.
Essar Group reportedly expects to earn US$1.5 billion from the sale, funds that it would spend on bolstering its operations in the shipping, energy and steel sectors.
Two years ago, Essar Group was reportedly in talks with several equity firms regarding a possible sale of its majority stake in Aegis, but the conglomerate later decided to wait until after India’s general election.
In February, Aegis raised its 2014 growth forecast to 18%, saying it had been awarded several outsourcing contracts from India’s nationalized banks such as Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Union Bank.
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