Blackstone moves to acquire Serco's BPO biz for Rs 2,558 cr

In its largest ever acquisition in India, private equity funds managed by Blackstone have entered into a definitive agreement with Serco Group to buy the majority of its private sector business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, the main element of which is the former Intelenet business, for approximately Rs 2,558 crore.

The business has expected annual revenues of approximately £235 million for this year.
The company has 51,000 full time employees across 67 centres in eight countries. The private sector BPO business provides a range of middle and back office services, and has a strong customer base of international organisations, predominantly across the financial services, insurance, telecoms, travel and healthcare sectors, Blackstone said.

Rebranding strategy
Under the terms of the transaction, the business will continue to be led by Susir Kumar, and the existing management team, which has been instrumental in the growth of the company.

Post the change in ownership, the business will be rebranded and revived as Intelenet Global Services. The sale is expected to be completed in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, Blackstone added.