India Essar to buy controlling AGC Networks stake

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – India’s Essar Group has agreed to buy a controlling stake in communications solution firm AGC Networks (AVYA.BO) for $44.5 million, as it strives to boost outsourcing services.

Deals | Inflows Outflows

Essar Group will pay 245 rupees ($5.30) a share for the 59.13 percent stake in AGC Networks, from U.S. network equipment maker Avaya Inc AVXX.UL, and will offer to buy an additional 20 percent stake in AGC as required by Indian regulations.

The offer price is 12 percent lower than AGC’s Friday closing price of 278.45 rupees in the Mumbai market.

Essar said the open offer for the additional 20 percent stake would cost 780 million rupees. Company officials on a conference call said the open offer would be announced in about three weeks.

“This transaction allows us to offer a wider range of services,” Aparup Sengupta, global CEO of Essar Group’s outsourcing venture Aegis Ltd, told journalists on Sunday.

AGC Networks is focused on the India and Australia markets and had annual revenue of about $100 million, Sengupta said. The company employs about 500 people.

Sengupta said there was no plan of merging unlisted Aegis Ltd with listed AGC Networks.

“We are under no pressure to list (Aegis),” he said.

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India Essar to file for London IPO next week-sources

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, April 8 (Reuters) – India’s Essar Group plans to file papers for a $2.5-$3 billion initial public offering of shares in its energy and power businesses in the London bourse next week, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Energy | Utilities

Sources have told Reuters previously that the company will sell about a 20-25 percent stake in the operations. [ID:nSGE62706D] (Reporting by Pratish Narayanan and Sumeet Chatterjee)

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India’s billionaire list doubles

November 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is once again the wealthiest person in India. The net worth of the promoter of the largest listed Indian company is put at $32 billion, an increase of 54 per cent from nearly $21 billion last year, according to a Forbes report.

“Trailing behind him are Lakshmi Mittal (Arcelor Mittal) with a net worth of $30 billion, up 46 per cent from $20.5 billion, and Mukesh’s estranged brother, Anil Ambani, whose net worth of $17.5 billion, 40 per cent, higher than before, put him in third place,” it said. A rebounding stock market that gained two-thirds in the past year and an economy growing at 6 per cent have boosted the net worth of India’s richest people. The combined net worth of India’s 100 richest people is $276 billion, almost a quarter of the country’s GDP.

“Last year, there were only 27 billionaires on the India Rich List. This year, the number has almost doubled to 52, just two short of what India had at the peak of the stock market boom in 2007,” according to the Forbes report.

Though the top 10 positions remain largely unchanged, there are some shifts in fortunes across the list. Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, has moved down from Number 4 to Number 8 and Wipro chairman Azim Premji has moved up to Number 4 position.

“The Ruia brothers (Essar group) with a net worth of $13.6 billion have made it to number 5 this year. Adi Godrej has moved out of the top 10 to the number 12 position. Savitri Jindal, nonexecutive chairwoman of O P Jindal Group, at a net worth of $12 billion this year has made it to number 7 on the list she is one of only six women on the list,” the Forbes report said.

The richest newcomers are two brothers from Torrent Power – Sudhir and Samir Mehta, ranked 23 at $2.02 billion. Another notable mention is Nandan Nilekani who has stepped down from Infosys board and is now a part of government. He ranks 43 with a net worth of $1.25 billion. Southern India’s TV king Kalanithi Maran, ranked 20, almost doubled his net worth to $2.3 billion from $1.2 billion.

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Aegis to acquire UCMS Group

May 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai/Melbourne, May 15 (ANI/Business Wire India): Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Limited and UCMS Group Limited today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire all of the shares of UCMS Group Limited through an all cash transaction with an aggregate equity value of approximately AUD 54 million.

This strategic combination has been approved by the board of directors of both companies.

Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Limited, an affiliate of Aegis Limited, is a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) provider and part of Essar Group, one of India’s largest and fastest growing business conglomerates.

UCMS Group Limited is a leading BPO services provider in Australia.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aegis will pay UCMS stockholders AUD 0.98 per share in cash through Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Limited, which represents a premium of 133 per cent over closing price of UCMS on May 14 of AUD 0.42, being the last trading day prior to this announcement.

On completion of the transaction, Aegis will become a leader in the rapidly growing global BPO market with operations in India, the Philippines, the United States, Costa Rica, Kenya and now Australia. With more than 33,000 employees globally Aegis is well positioned to provide onshore, near shore and offshore BPO services or a combination of customized solutions to meet client requirements.

Additionally, Aegis will offer and benefit from greater scale, deeper domain expertise, a comprehensive and flexible solution offering, financial strength, and a rich international talent pool.

“This is a great opportunity for the UCMS Group to be a part of a global ecosystem in BPO services with Aegis,” said Aparup Sengupta, Global CEO and Managing Director of Aegis Limited.

“We believe that the business combination will enhance value for customers and employees. Aegis is well positioned for growth and geographic expansion as we deliver on our mission to become a leader in the global BPO market,” Sengupta added.

Aparup added, “Aegis has grown five fold in size and ten fold in employee strength in the last four years. Australia and New Zealand logically become a part of our growth strategy and offer an opportunity for Aegis to expand its footprint in this geography. The combined entity will offer clients and prospects an expanded set of solutions and services from a broader geographic delivery platform.”

Denice Pitt, Chief Executive Officer, UCMS said, “We are excited to become a part of a global outsourcing leader. We believe that this combination will deliver superior value to our customers as well as provide our employees with an opportunity to be part of a larger enterprise and to explore career opportunities in new geographies.

Combining UCMS and Aegis, with its excellent reputation for customer service and high quality services, creates a wealth of exciting growth opportunities, as well as operational and client acquisition synergies. Our two companies share the same core values of customer satisfaction and commitment to high quality solutions. UCMS solutions bring compelling value to an organization and Aegis’s leadership and market strength can take UCMS to the next level of excellence.”

UCMS is being advised by McNamee Lawrence and Co and Minter Ellison. Aegis is being advised by Macquarie Capital Advisers Limited and Clayton Utz.

The transaction is subject to several conditions, including UCMS shareholder approval, approval by the Supreme Court of Victoria and certain other customary closing conditions.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions.

Aegis has a successful history of acquisitions in the last four years, including its acquisition in October 2008 of PeopleSupport, Inc., a NASDAQ listed outsourcing firm.

Aegis has established a record of aligning the interests of all stakeholders in a short period of time. (ANI)

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