John Keells Holdings (JKH), the largest public conglomerate in Sri Lanka, has picked up 44% stake in Quatrro F&A. Quatrro, along with John Keells, has acquired US-based RSM McGladrey’s financial process outsourcing (FPO) unit.
Quatrro F&A is the new entity formed after the merger of Quatrro’s finance & accounting unit with the newly-acquired FPO. As part of the deal, John Keells will shell out $5.72 million upfront and will bring in additional funds over a period of time for the FPO acquisition.
“We have carved out a new legal entity from the merger of our own finance and accounting practice and RSM’s FPO unit. John Keells has picked up 44% stake in this new entity,” said Quatrro CMD Raman Roy. The acquisition of the FPO unit would be financed through a mix of debt and equity.
“The investment in Quatrro F&A is a step forward in JKH’s plans of building a regional BPO business,” a John Keells Holdings statement said. Quatrro already has a joint venture with JKH-Auxicogent, which is an outsourced services provider of specialised front office and back office services in transportation & logistics, travel & leisure, technical support & customer service. It has delivery centres in India, Sri Lanka, China and Singapore.
Quatrro acquired Chicago-based RSM McGladrey Financial Process Outsourcing, a leading firm providing accounting service solutions to small and medium enterprises for an undisclosed sum. With the acquisition, Quatrro will add two new US locations in Wisconsin, and one location in Mumbai to its existing centres.
Post-acquisition, about 500-600 employees of RSM McGladrey, of which one third are based in the US, will come under Quatrro. The Indian BPO company will also get McGladrey’s accounting technology platform and top leadership.
Source: Economic Times