Aegis buys Philippine BPO for $250 mn

Mumbai, Aug 5: In its largest acquisition till date, the Essar Group-owned Aegis Communications has bought Philippines-based BPO PeopleSupport for $250 million. This is the BPO firm"s eleventh acquisition in the last three years. Aegis has signed a definitive agreement to buy the Nasdaq-listed firm, Aegis CEO and MD Aparup Sengupta said. Following the acquisition, PeopleSupport will delist and the Essar group will own 100 pc of the entity.

Aegis will pay PeopleSupport stockholders $12.25 per share in cash through Essar Services (Mauritius). This is a premium of around 29 pc over PeopleSupport"s closing share price on August 1, 2008, the last trading day prior to the announcement. Credit Suisse was the financial advisor to PeopleSupport in the transaction.

“We believe that this combination will deliver superior value to PeopleSupport"s stockholders and customers as well as provide our employees with the opportunity to be part of a larger enterprise and to explore career opportunities in new geographies," PeopleSupport CEO and chairman Lance Rosenzweig was quoted as saying in a statement.

The acquisition gives Aegis a sizeable presence in Philippines, which is a key region for BPO players servicing the US market, as well as presence in Costa Rica.

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