Essar's Aegis to buy US BPO firm ICT for Rs 640 crore

NEW DELHI/NEW YORK: Ruias-promoted Indian conglomerate Essar group's BPO arm Aegis on Monday said it has offered to acquire a Nasdaq-listed outsourcing firm ICT Group for about Rs 127 million dollars (Rs 640 crore).

Shares of ICT surged sharply by over 80 per cent to 6.52 dollars a share at the Nasdaq in early morning trade after the announcement of Aegis offer.

In a statement, Aegis Ltd said it has made a proposal to the board of ICT Group to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company for eight dollars a piece in cash.

This offer represents a premium of approximately 71 per cent over the 30-day average closing price of ICT shares and approximately 122 per cent premium above the last closing price as of February 27, Aegis said.

"The combined company would bring together a significant diversity of clients, expanded geographic footprint and substantial scale of operations," it added.

"We have great respect for the ICT Group and its management team, and believe that together we can create a platform for strong long-term growth," Aegis' Managing Director and Global CEO Aparup Sengupta said.

"Aegis is seeking the support and approval of the Board of ICT to effect the transaction on a friendly basis through a merger between ICTG and a subsidiary or a special purpose vehicle or parent of Aegis," the company said.



Aegis has made a number of acquisitions in the last four years, including its recent takeover in October 2008 of Nasdaq-listed outsourcing firm PeopleSupport, Inc.

Aegis is part of the Ruia family-promoted Essar Group, a diversified business group with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors, including steel, energy, power, communications, shipping and logistics, construction, mining and minerals.

Essar employs more than 50,000 people in over 30 countries in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Last month, ICT reported a net loss of 21.4 million dollars for the fourth quarter ended December 2008, up from 2.9 million dollar in the year ago period. Its total revenue dropped to 101.6 million dollars from 112.5 million dollars.