MERGED FIRM TARGETS LOCAL MARKET
Essar Group ends PeopleSupport buyout
By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:27:00 11/11/2008
Filed Under: Technology (general), business process outsourcing (BPO)
Editor’s Note: Updated to correct figures in the story.
MAKATI City, Philippines – India's Essar Group said it has completed its merger with US-based contact center firm PeopleSupport including operations in the Philippines.
The acquisition first announced in August was valued at approximately $250 million or $12.25 per share. This resulted in the merger between PeopleSupport and Aegis BPO Services, which is under Essar Group.
Aegis-PeopleSupport will now target the domestic market, according to Aparup Sengupta, managing director and global CEO, in a briefing here.
"We are going big on our domestic business in the Philippines," Sengupta said. "Like the local market in India. We are seeing similar conditions here such as increased consumer spend."
Gupta said Aegis' domestic outsourcing business in India alone employs about 15,000 people.
Bong Borja, Aegis-PeopleSupport Philippines country manager, likewise believes there is now demand for call center services from industries, such as telecoms and retail.
"We can run daytime shifts for local customers to maximize our existing capacity. Having a sizable domestic business also cushions the impact of dollar depreciation in our foreign business," Borja said.
Building a local client base, he admitted, would mean targeting a different labor pool and entail a different salary structure.
Borja added: "The salary structure could be different first and foremost because night differential pay will not apply. But we are seeing that there are people willing to work during daytime shifts.
Gupta, meanwhile, said this development does not mean the company is shifting its focus away from the US market due to the current economic slowdown.
"What we are saying is that like India, we are adding local capability and not building something new that cannibalizes our existing business," he said.
Aegis-PeopleSupport has combined revenues valued at $450 million. It operates more than 30 delivery centers in India, Costa Rica, US and the Philippines.
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