EXL Services exploring acquisitions in US
EXL Services, which offers back-office services competing with firms such as WNS Global Services and Genpact, is considering adding delivery operations in the United States, the India-based organization’s major export market, by means of a buyout. According to Rohit Kapoor, EXL Services president and CEO, his company is presently engaged in assessing a number of deals in this regard.
Kapoor has said that his firm is interested in a buyout for geographic setting as well as potential. Stating that they are basically keen on an onshore set-up keeping in view the geographic location, Kapoor hinted that a number of deals are in the conduit – a number of them in the preliminary phases, another few in diligence phase, while they were examining the term sheets of the remaining offers.
Recent acquisitions by EXL Services comprise Schneider Logistics’ back office processes in the Czech Republic and the exclusive travel services of American Express in India. In fact, the decision of the EXL Services management to invest in onshore location is a noteworthy shift in the policies of the firm, which earlier preferred acquisitions in cost-effective locales like India, the Philippines and Eastern Europe. Kapoor, who is himself stationed in the United States, says that a number of his clients would like continuing evolution, particularly in the current situation.
The new move by EXL Services assumes significance in view of the fact that the proceeds of the BPO are determined by operations like including payroll, accounting and procurement. Most of these functions are performed by the units inside the client’s business establishment prior to being contracted out to any third-party suppliers and hence, are more sensitive. In addition, the recent political wave against offshoring in the United States has also partly influenced the decision of the EXL management.
In addition, according to Kapoor, having onshore facilities would enable the back-office firm to execute more complex assignments that necessitate a high degree of control and conformity. At the same time, some assignments like transferring documents on paper to an electronic format require a physical presence.
Different from the IT service providers that traditionally started operations with combined on-shore and offshore operations; BPO suppliers began with nearly complete offshore services operations. During the last few years, the BPO providers have spread out to new geographical sites like the Philippine to provide voice-based facilities and Eastern European countries for nearshore proficiency.