WNS Holdings debuts on NYSE

By agencies   |   Thursday, 27 July 2006, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
MUMBAI: WNS Holdings has become the first Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) company to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after it raised about $224 million in an initial public offering at $20 per ADS. Despite weaker U.S. market, WNS Holdings rose in early trade on Wednesday with two million shares being traded, and touched a price of $21.25. The company has issued fresh capital and its two main investors Warburg Pincus and British Airways have also offloaded their stakes in the company. After the IPO, private equity fund Warburg Pincus’ stake in WNS will drop to 53.6percent from 64.7percent, while British Airways stake will come down from 14.61percent to 1.94percent. British Airways started WNS in 1996 as a captive unit in Mumbai. Private equity firm, Warburg Pinus acquired majority stake from British Airways and WNS expanded its services to other customers. WNS Holdings is the parent holding company of WNS Global Services, which has operations in Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Gurgaon. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people in the BPO sector, has grown both organically and through acquisitions in the past three years.