Update: Global Services stakes to Blackstone JV

18 June 2007

Mumbai: HDFC and Barclays Bank will exit BPO business by selling their joint venture Intelenet Global Services Pvt Ltd (IGSPL) stakes to SKR BPO Services, co-owned by Blackstone GVP Capital and Intelenet Management, for an undisclosed amount. (See: Blackstone set to acquire HDFC-Barclays JV Intelenet for $200 million)

An equal joint venture between HDFC and Barclays, Intelenet provides business processing services to local and international customers and has gross assets of $107 million. "HDFC launched Intelenet at a time when the BPO sector was developing rapidly. We are happy to have been associated with Intelenet in its journey towards growth and leadership in the BPO industry," HDFC executive director Renu S Karnad said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Intelenet will continue to provide services to Barclays in relation to certain processes currently offshored to India. Besides, it will assist Barclays in establishing a wholly-owned BPO in India, which will serve Barclays'' incremental offshoring requirements.

In a related development, the board of directors of SKR BPO has asked Sparsh BPO Services, a 51-per cent IGSPL outfit, to execute the share-purchase agreement and purchase 6.84 crore equity shares (being 100 per cent of the voting capital) of IGSPL.

"Since the acquisition of the equity shares of IGSPL by SKR BPO Services results in an indirect acquisition of control of the company, which could also be regarded as an indirect acquisition of the shares, SKR BPO is to make an open offer to the public shareholders," Sparsh BPO Services informed the BSE.

SKR BPO Services will make an open offer for acquiring up to 32.29 lakh equity shares (constituting 20 per cent of the issued share capital of the company) at an offer price of Rs200 per share.