Spanish BPO firm Accelya acquires 35% stake in Kale Consultant
Accelya, a business process outsourcing firm headquartered in Spain has announced that it has bought 35.61 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based IT services and solutions firm Kale Consultant for approximately INR 97 crore. As per the deal, each share of Kale Consultant has been valued at INR 172. The Spanish BPO firm acquired Kale Consultant’s shares from the promoters of the Indian tech firm.
A financial website reports that Accelya desires to acquire an additional 20 per cent stake in Kale Consultant with a view to take absolute control of the Indian tech firm. The Spanish firm now intends to publicize an open offer to buy these additional shares. It has been learnt that even after the recent transfer of stakes to Accelya, Kale Consultant would continue to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the National Stock Exchange.
As per the terms of the deal, even after the acquisition of bulk shares by Accelya, Kale Consultant CEO and MD Vipul Jain will carry on as the head of the firm. The website report quotes Vipul Jain saying that although the promoters of Kale Consultant – Vipul Jain, Narendra Jain and the Jain family) have quit the company, he will remain the head of the company. At the same time, Vipul said that he also intends to invest some amount from the sale of the shares into the holding company.
Industry experts are of the view, that the deal with Accelya would help Kale Consultant to drive faster growth as well as reach a wider market. This deal will enable Kale Consultant together with Accelya to emerge as the leading competitor in the aviation and airline sector, they opined. According to Vipul Jain, Accelya alone processes about 55 per cent of airline tickets sold through agents worldwide and, hence, the deal would prove to be strategic move for them.
It may be noted here that Accelya is an $80 million business process outsourcing service vendor catering to the travel and airline industry. This Spanish firm presently has delivery hubs in Spain, the UK, France, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Hungary and Tunisia. During the last fiscal year, Accelya had handled more than 170 million airline tickets in as many as 80 countries in support of the International Air Transport Association. Presently, the firm has more than 600 professionals on its rolls.
On the other hand, Kale Consultant was founded in 1986 and is presently among the few middle-level tech firms catering to clients in the airline, travel industry and logistics. Having employee strength of around 1,500, the company generated revenues worth INR 165.9 crore during the 2009-10 fiscal.