BPO company Hinduja Global Solutions (HGSL) today said it would acquire 100 per cent stake in United Kingdom-based contact service provider Careline Services to expand its reach in the European market.
"This acquisition would act as a launch pad for HGSL to enter the UK and European markets, and will also be a platform to cross-sell its global delivery model to Careline's European client base," the city-headquartered HGSL said in a statement.
However, it did not divulge information on the deal size.
"This is HGSL's first acquisition in the United Kingdom and it expects to grow the business rapidly in the next few years," it added.
With the acquisition, Hinduja Global Solutions would have a presence in 29 delivery centres across the US, India, Philippines, Canada, Mauritius and UK.
The global headcount of the company was expected to cross 16,000 in 2010, it added.
"Our acquisition of Careline Services is a continuation of our endeavour to expand the global footprint of HGSL. This acquisition provides us entry into the European market, which offers great promise for the future. We are looking at expanding our presence here at a fast pace," Hinduja Global Solutions CEO Partha Sarkar said.
"HGSL is a leading BPO company with a proven track record of delivering services across multiple countries. We believe the association with HGSL would provide us invaluable expertise of managing size and scale as Careline expands its operations in UK," Careline Services Co-Founder and Managing Director Charles Cooper-Driver said.
He said the acquisition marked the next phase of growth for Careline and would strengthen its ability to act as "a strategic business partner to our clients".
At present, HGSL has over 80 clients through delivery centres. It clocked $193 million in revenue through 2009, the statement added.
Thirteen-year-old Careline Services, a contact centre provider, serves 20 clients in the government, FMCG, financial services and auto sectors.
It has 1,000 employees spread across three delivery centres in the UK, who handle 50,000 calls a day in 14 languages.
