NIIT to acquire mid-sized BPO

By agencies   |   Monday, 13 June 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: NIIT is learnt to be close to acquiring a mid-sized BPO company. The technology arm of the Delhi-based training major is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations for taking over a firm of about $15 million to help bring new clients for its small but fast-growing BPO business. This acquisition, when finalized, will mark NIIT’s return to the non-organic growth path after a gap of two years. The company had earlier acquired six firms like Cognitive Arts, Osprey Systems, Data Executive International and the customs development business of Click2learn in the U.S., AD Solution in Germany and eGuruCool in India. When contacted, NIIT chairman Rajendra Pawar confirmed that they were looking for a BPO company but refused to divulge any details. “We are looking at acquiring a BPO company with a good customer base. We are not looking at adding more offshore capacity, but would be keen on companies which can give us inroads into good, stable clients,” he said. In fact, NIIT is believed to be eyeing software companies in the U.S. and Europe too in the three verticals that it focuses on -financial services, transportation and retail. Its search program is learnt to be focused more on the U.S. today. Without giving any names, NIIT CEO Arvind Thakur said, “We are looking at companies in the three domains we are focused on and those with skill-sets in SAP.” Though the names of the companies are being kept under wraps, NIIT is in takeover talks with a couple of BPO firms. NIIT is planning to expand its small, but fast-growing, BPO operations. NIIT Technologies earned Rs 339 million from its BPO operations, compared to its total revenue of Rs 5.43 billion last year. Of its total manpower of over 3,000 people, NIIT employs about 740 people in its BPO operations. NIIT had spun off its software solutions business into a separate company called NIIT Technologies (NTL) and NIIT now focuses on the education business. NIIT Technologies has announced a 77 percent jump in net profit on a topline growth of 12 percent in its first year of independent operations after being spun off. The shares of NIIT Technologies, after de-merger from NIIT, were listed on BSE and NSE in August last year.

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