Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd. acquires Careline Services of UK
The business process outsourcing division of the Hinduja Group – Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd. (HGSL) has acquired the UK-based BPO firm Careline Services through is subsidiary in Europe, but did not reveal the particulars regarding the financial aspects of the transaction. A top contact service vendor, Careline Services offers its services to over 20 marquee clients in several verticals, including financial services, telecom, FMCG, government, automobiles and retail.
Quoting Hinduja Group India chairman Ashok P Hinduja, a business website reports that acquiring Careline Services will help HGSL to develop the UK-based firm as a launch pad in the European market as well serve a platform to the Indian IT company to cross-sell its international delivery model to European customers of Careline, founded in 1997. The transaction is to be completed within the ensuing few weeks, he added. The Hinduja Group India chairman is optimist that they would be able to rapidly develop the Careline Services’ business over the next few years.
The Hindujas, keen to acquire set-ups in the US and the UK, were in negotiation with a number of firms. The annual revenues of the BPO firm they were negotiating with in the US were approximately $250 million, while the one in the UK had a turnover of about £25 million. In fact, Careline Services is the first firm acquired by the Hindujas in the UK. Careline has more than 1,000 professionals on its rolls based at three locations in the UK and it deals with as many as 50,000 customer contacts daily in 14 languages. According to Ashok P. Hinduja, even after the acquisition, Careline Services CEO and key members of staff would continue in their current positions.
The new acquisition will enhance HGSL’s presence to 29 centers throughout India, the UK, the US, Canada the Philippines and Mauritius and will increase the strength of the company’s workforce to 16,000 worldwide. HGSL CEO Partha Sarkar described the acquisition of Careline Services as a strategic move that will not only help the Indian IT firm to expand its operations in new locations, but also facilitate in enhancing its client base. On the other hand, Careline Services co-founder and managing director Charles Cooper-Driver said that the acquisition manifested a new growth phase for the UK-based firm, while reinforcing the company’s aptitude to function as a tactical business associate for its clients.
Meanwhile, another news website quotes data available from VCCEdge, an online financial research platform, in all there have been 34 outbound transactions worth $1.9 million in the Indian outsourcing industry, which is predicted to grow by approximately 25 per cent during the current fiscal, since 2005. The most important transaction held during 2010 includes Patni Computers' acquisition of CHCS Services Inc, Aditya Birla Minacs buying out Compass BPO Ltd and Intelenet Global Services Ltd acquiring FirstInfo Ltd.