CBay to buy US firms for $25 mn

Healthcare BPO major CBay Group is close to acquiring two US-based patient financial service (PFS) companies for around $25 million.

The acquisitions are aimed at expanding CBay's service offerings and presence in America and India.

The acquisitions are expected to be completed in 10 days. The Mumbai-based company will offer $13-15 million for pan-US presence and $8-10 million for strong presence in the west coast.

The companies are into PFS and receivables management, employing over 350 personnel and has over 600 clients across the US. However, the identity of the companies could not be ascertained.

CBay Systems India Chairman and CEO V Raman Kumar told Business Standard that the company was in talks with two US-based BPO firms and a deal was expected shortly. He refused to divulge the names of the companies citing non-disclosure agreements (NDA).

He said these acquisitions would help the company become the number one healthcare-BPO firm in the world.

The company was expecting to post $ 100 revenues million from the present $36 million through an inorganic growth mode in the next 24-36 months.

At present, CBay is the third largest healthcare-BPO company, with MidQuest with a $500 million revenues and Spheris with around $180-200 million leading the pack.

The total PFS market is expected to be around $45-50 billion. "CBay is also looking at acquiring other companies in the US, if a right company with a right price comes our way", Kumar said.

It had earlier acquired Godrej's BPO operations and Hyderabad-based BPO major Karvy. The company's promoter group, including industrialist Nadir Godrej holds 25 per cent stake in the company, while the remaining 75 per cent is held by foreign institutional investors.