Birlas close to buying Transworks for $5-mn

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 16 May 2003, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: The Aditya Birla group is close to acquiring a Mumbai-based BPO (business process outsourcing) firm, Transworks, for close to $5m (Rs 25 crore) in an attempt to secure a foothold in the fast-growing BPO segment, according to a leading Indian business daily. The AV Birla group appears to have pipped New Jersey-based IT services major, Cognizant Technologies, whose talks to acquire a strategic stake in the BPO firm were said to be at an advanced stage. The deal was concluded a few days ago but this could not be independently confirmed, the paper said. Venture capital fund ChrysCapital holds around 67.7% in Transworks after investing a little under $10m in phases. The proposed deal seems to take a leaf out of the Wipro-Spectramind transaction —in which ChrysCapital sold its stake to Wipro — which was completed last year. The daily said the Aditya Birla group spokesperson was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts. Transworks CEO, Prakash Gurbaxani, refused to comment. ChrysCapital’s partner, Ashish Dhawan, also declined to comment. "If the deal with the Aditya Birla group were to materialise, it could be done in phases. A share-swap could also be another possibility," the daily quoted sources as saying. The group could initially acquire a strategic stake in the BPO firm followed by a complete buyout at a later stage. It is not known whether the Birla group is routing the transaction through one of its group companies. According to sources, Transworks will not come under the ambit of the group’s information technology company, PSI Data Systems. The proposed entry of the Birlas as strategic partner will enable Transworks to utilise the investment for expansion. Industry sources said that the presence of a strong business group like the Aditya Birla group is expected to provide a better business platform for Transworks. (Source : Economic Times)