Xchanging Plc to buy 75pc stake in Cambridge

London, Oct 6: Xchanging Plc, a UK-based back office services provider has agreed to acquire 75 per cent stake in IT services firm Cambridge Solutions for about 83 million pounds (Rs 686.84 crore). Xchanging would pay Rs 371.2 crore in cash and issue 1.52 crore shares of the firm to Cambridge.

The firm said in a statement issued on Friday, Oct 3 that the shares would account for seven percent of Xchanging's current issued ordinary share capital. According to sources, the UK firm would be paying about Rs 81 for each share of Cambridge. This would be a premium of 36.3 percent over the company's closing price of Rs 59.40 on Friday, Oct 3 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In addition, stocks bought under the open offer would reduce the number of shares to be acquired from the majority shareholders who have agreed to sell 75 per cent shareholding. This would ensure that Xchanging's stake did not exceed 75 per cent, the statement noted.

Xchanging's Chief Executive Officer David Andrews told sources that India understands high quality services, both in business processing and in IT sector.

"This is a unique opportunity to accelerate our strategy to create a global business processor at a time when our industry is internationalising... "We will be able to offer customers both global reach and a proven track record in business processing and IT," he said.

OneIndia News