Aegis, the business process outsourcing arm of the diversified Essar Group, has bought South Africa's CCN Group – paving the way for 5000 jobs to be created.
Aparup Sengupta, Global CEO and Managing Director of Aegis said in a statement on Thursday that CCN was a strategic fit for Aegis.
“This combined entity will offer CCN's clients and prospects an expanded set of solutions and services from a broader geographic delivery platform,” he said.
“South Africa becomes an integral part of our growth strategy and offers an opportunity for Aegis to develop skills, create employment and bring in international experience to South Africa.”
The unlisted CCN Group, like Aegis, is a BPO company.
BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider.
These could include call-centres, human resources, finance, and accounting.
Sengupta added that the deal was a step towards the group's commitment to creating 5000 jobs in South Africa over a period of time.
Aegis did not disclose how much it paid for CCN, but said that the amount was part of its plan to invest US$60-million in South Africa over the next three years.
Lawrence Brick, CEO of CCN said he was confident that CCN has found a worthy parent to guide its future growth.
“We believe this transaction creates a win for our customers, employees and stockholders.
Aegis said it had a successful history of integrations in the last four years, including its acquisition in October 2008 of PeopleSupport Inc, a Nasdaq-listed outsourcing firm.
It added that it had established a record of aligning the interests of all stakeholders in a short period of time
“This would be the twelth acquisition for Aegis, while the next one, UCMS in Australia is still awaiting regulatory approval for closing,” the group said.
Source: I Africa