Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), the BPO arm of the Hinduja Group, has acquired Canada-based customer relationship management company On-Line Support Inc. (OLS) for C$ 74.85 million ($78.16 million or Rs 343 crore) in an all-cash deal. The acquisition has been made through its wholly owned US subsidiary HGS Inc., Hinduja Global Solutions has stated in a filing today to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Post this acquisition, Hinduja Global Solutions will have 21,300 employees worldwide and its consolidated annual revenues will cross $300 million on a run rate basis, the company has said. However, the CEO and the senior management team of OLS will continue in their current roles after the acquisition.
The acquisition will enable both companies to cross-sell and up-sell to their existing clients while OLS will benefit from the global network of HGS delivery centres. HGS services more than 100 customers through its 42 delivery centres across India, the USA, the UK, Canada, the Philippines and Mauritius, with offerings in more than 25 different languages. The synergy will manifest the most in the telecom space where both have strong capabilities.
Shares of Hinduja Global Solutions were trading at Rs 356.05 per scrip at 3:18 pm on the BSE, up 2.27 per cent from the previous close.
OLS is a leading contact centre provider, servicing customers across multiple verticals such as media, telecom, technology and BFSI. It offers technical support, inbound & outbound sales, customer care and customer retention in English and French languages, and features over 1,650 seats at 10 sites in Canada. In FY11, OLS posted a turnover of C$63.4 million ($66.20 million or Rs 294 crore) and currently employees about 1800 people.
In June last year, it acquired 100 per cent stake in the UK-based customer relationship management company Careline Services for an undisclosed sum. Careline employs over 1,000 people across three locations in the UK.
HGS provides outsourcing solutions including back-office processing, contact centre services and customised IT solutions to several Fortune 500 companies.
Incidentally, Hinduja Group-promoted IndusInd Bank struck a deal in April this year to acquire Deutsche Bank’s loss-making credit card business in India for an undisclosed sum. Under the agreement, IndusInd will get access to nearly two lakh credit card customers of the German bank in India and the entire operating platform of the cards franchise, including talent and technology.
