Aegis planning to tap market through $400mn IPO

Aegis, Essar group's business process outsourcing (BPO) and back office services arm, is seeking to raise up to $400 million (Rs1,975 crore) through an initial public offer. The feasibility is still being worked out but the issue could be around the middle of this year, Aegis chief executive Aparup Sengupta said on Thursday.

Talking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the NASSCOM India forum in Mumbai, Sengupta said his company was talking to bankers to raise $300-400 million through an IPO as well private equity funding. It would largely comprise equity with very little debt.

''I would say that we are still in the conversation stage. We are looking at strategic as well PE (private equity) investors to come into this cycle. Once we get the sense as to what we need to do, maybe sometime middle of this year,'' he said when asked about the timeline.

''We are in conversation with bankers and will take another three-four months to finalise things. But I am looking at the UK, the US and India as the primary markets for the IPO,'' he said.

Sengupta expects the company to log an overall growth of 25 per cent this year.

The company plans to tap China too, but more as a delivery destination than a source of funds.