Business services provider Quess Corp acquired Tata Business Support Services (TBSS) for Rs 153 crore on Monday. It will own 51% of the Hyderabad-headquartered company, with Tata Sons holding the remaining stake.
The TBSS acquisition adds 27,000 employees to Bengaluru-headquartered Quess, which had reported a headcount of 212,500 employees in the September 2017-ending quarter. In its statement to stock markets, Quess said TBSS is a Customer Experience (CX) management company that reported Rs 661crore in revenue and 8.5% operating margins.
The business process outsourcing outfit has 13 years of expertise in financial services, auto & manufacturing, telecom, media and retail, with a mix of clientele from Tata entities and external customers. The deal is expected to be completed before 31 December 2017.
“Customer lifecycle management and BPO was missing in the Quess suite of business services,” said Ajit Isaac, chairman and managing director of Quess. “This is an EPS accretive transaction,” he added. “TBSS adds 25% more EBITDA to our profits, even as our long-term growth strategy is playing out to become a market leader,” Isaac told ET.
Quess, a Rs 4,157-crore company, grew 21% over FY2016, reporting six acquisitions and investments in the financial year to widen its service portfolio. “It is a staffing company trying to expand to several adjacencies for enterprise customers, who need service support at optimal costs,” said an investment banker, who requested not to be named. The acquisitions strategy is possible because of its promoter Thomas Cook India (57%), which is in turn backed by Fairbridge Capital, the i-banker added.
