IL&FS arm picks up stake in Datamatics

IL&FS Investment Managers (IIML), the private equity arm of IL&FS, has picked up a minority stake in Munbai-based BPO, Datamatics Technologies, for an undisclosed amount.

The amount will be utilised by Datamatics for funding its overseas expansion plans an IL&FS media release said. Sources close to the deal said the equity had been picked for around $3 million.

Il&FS invested in Datamtics owing to its emergence as the largest third party pure-play BPO in the country after its acquisition of Corpay Solutions Inc. The US-basd Corpay is a $13 million company specialising in finance and accounting BPO services.

We believe that there is tremendous growth potential for Datamatics Technologies as it is at the forefront of the BPO wave.

The robust order pipeline coupled with DTL's domain expertise and roster of clients will ensure shareholder wealth creation.

The investment is in sync with our overall strategy of investing in mature companies in technology space," Shazaad Dalal, vice-chairman of IIML, said.

IIML has invested Rs 30 crore in three BPO companies to date, each specialising in different segments. It currently has around Rs 800 crore of funds under management.

Datamatics operates in publishing, finance & accounting, human resources, insurance and healthcare domains. It has also increased its stake in US-based Saztec from 47 per cent to 100 per cent.

It plans to focus on growing both organically and inorganically for which it may raise additional funds, including through the IPO route.

Datamatics also recently entered into a joint venture with Nasdaq-listed Cadmus Communications Corporation, a leading provider of publishing services to form KnowledgeWorks Global which provides a full range of content processing, content management, and related services to scientific, technical and medical publishers and other organisations around the world, the release said.

The gameplan

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• The equity deal is valued at $3 million.
• Datamatics to use the proceeds to fund overseas expansion.
• Datamtics is the largest third-party pure-play BPO firm in the country.
• It had earlier acquired Corpay Solutions, an American BPO company specialising in finance and accounting services, for $13 million.