IT services provider HCL Technologies Ltd has signed an agreement to acquire US-based Control Point Solutions for $20.8 million. Control Point is a privately held company which provides voice, data and wireless telecom expense management (TEM) services. Control Point caters to enterprises and carriers across industry verticals. HCL will also take control of four of its delivery centres spread across the US with over 200 professionals. This is the third BPO acquisition of HCL this year. In February this year it had acquired US-based Capital Stream, Inc. for $40 million. Last month HCL had acquired UK-based BPO Liberata Financial Services.
"The strategic acquisition of Control Point Solutions is in line with HCL BPO's goal to make strategic, platform-based acquisitions which give us sustainable competitive advantage in chosen verticals. This acquisition enhances HCL's ability to become an end-to-end provider of business process outsourcing services in the attractive TEM space," said HCL Technologies' BPO services president and CEO Ranjit Narasimhan. According to a press release from the company, the acquisition will strengthen HCL's unique advantage of providing multi-service delivery platforms for its customers with Control Points TEM expertise complementing HCL's remote infrastructure service offering. Langham Capital Ltd were the financial advisors to HCL on the deal.
As the valuations dip in the US and UK, increasing number of Indian BPO firms are looking for acquisitions there. HTMT Global Solutions, the BPO arm of Hinduja Group is in talks to acquire two companies in US and one in UK. Raman Roy's Quatrro BPO Solutions has prepared a $300 million warchest for overseas acquisitions. Quattro has bid for three companies with a total outlay of $250 million and has tied up with two PE funds for these prospective acquisitions.
