Aegis acquires South African BPO group CCN

Aegis Limited, the business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of the Essar Group, has acquired 100 per cent equity stake in CCN Group (Pty) Ltd, a privately owned contact center outsourcing company in South Africa.

An Aegis release, however, did not disclose the details of the deal, or the cost of acquisition.

CCN Group (Pty) Ltd, one of the leading BPO companies in South Africa, had revenues in excess of 150 million rand ($19 million) in financial year 2008-09. Its clientele includes both onshore and offshore customers, with significant number of clients in the UK. With a capacity of 700 seats and two facilities, the group has over 1,000 employs.

"CCN is a strategic fit for Aegis," said said Aparup Sengupta, global CEO and managing director of Aegis Limited, adding, "This combined entity will offer CCN's clients and prospects an expanded set of solutions and services from a broader geographic delivery platform.

"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.  This is a step towards our commitment to creating 5,000 jobs in South Africa over a period of time."

CCN CEO Lawrence Brick said, " We saw a good synergy in CCN and Aegis culture. We share a similar passion to deliver high quality services and are delighted to integrate CCN with Aegis. We are putting in a significant amount of our overall South Africa planned investment of 500 million rand ($60 million) into this acquisition. This is our way of demonstrating long-term commitment to this marketplace. With more than 33,000 employees globally, Aegis is well positioned to right shore customised solutions to meet today's business needs. Additionally, the clients will benefit from greater scale, deeper domain expertise, comprehensive and flexible solution offerings, robust financial strength, and a rich international talent pool," added Sandip Sen, global chief marketing officer and head of sales at Aegis.

Over the past four years Aegis has successfully integrated 11 firms, including the acquisition of Nasdaq-listed PeopleSupport Inc, in October 2008. CCN Group would be the 12th acquisition for Aegis, while it is still awaiting regulatory approval for the acquisition of UCMS in Australia.

Aegis, one of the fastest growing BPO companies globally, has annualised revenues of about $500,000. With a global delivery platform spanning onshore, near shore and offshore locations with 32 delivery facilities in US, the Philippines, India, Costa Rica and Kenya, Aegis services several Fortune 500 companies worldwide in the telecom, banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare, and travel verticals.