Crisil buys Pipal, to expand business in China

MUMBAI: Crisil, the Indian affiliate of Standard & Poor’s, has acquired Chicago-headquartered knowledge process outsourcing company Pipal Research from FirstSource Solutions for $12.75 million. The rating agency said it plans to expand its research business into China.

Pipal Research provides research services to top corporates in North America and Europe. It was founded in 2001 by former McKinsey professional Manoj Jain who is also its current chairman. The company reported $8.1 million revenue for FY10.

“We have been in the high-end offshoring business for over five years following our acquisition of Irevna. Irevna currently has a strong base among finance and insurance companies with six of the top ten banks as its clients. The unique takeaway for us is Pipal’s strong presence in the corporate sector” said Crisil MD Roopa Kudva.

“KPO is now a significant part of our research, which now accounts for 44% of our revenues,” said Ms Kudva. She added that Crisil was expecting strong growth in the research business and would soon open a research facility in China to meet the requirements of its international clients.

The acquisition has been an all cash deal with MAPE advisory as the sole advisor. Crisil’s KPO division, Irevna, has consistently been ranked as the No. 1 financial services and investment KPO firm by the Datamonitor Black Book of Outsourcing. “We now have more equity analysts and more derivative analysts outside investment banking” said Ms Kudva.

Pipal’s clients include leading global firms in the telecommunications, technology, consumer packaged goods, and industrial sectors, and in the financial services space. The acquisition will give Crisil research new presence in Gurgaon, Noida and Bangalore, and an office in Chicago.

Irevna’s services span equity research, credit research, derivatives support,quantitative research, risk management, commodities research, actuarial services, and foreign exchange. The company provides its services from Chennai, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, and Wroclaw (Poland).