Aegis to buy Australia-based UCMS Group for Rs 203 cr

Aegis, the business process outsourcing arm of Essar Group, signed a deal to acquire Australian firm UCMS Group through an all cash transaction worth A$54 million (around Rs 203 crore).

The acquisition is being done by the company’s Australian affiliate Aegis BPO Services Australia. Under the terms of the agreement, Aegis will pay UCMS stockholders A$0.98 per share in cash through Aegis BPO Services Australia, which represents a premium of 133 per cent over closing price of UCMS on May 14, 2009 of A$0.42, being the last trading day prior to this announcement.

On completion of the transaction, Aegis will have presence in India, the Philippines, the United States, Costa Rica, Kenya and now Australia.

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 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,” said Aparup Sengupta, Global CEO and Managing Director of Aegis Limited.

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.”

Earlier this year, Aegis had announced the intention to acquire Nasdaq listed ICT Group over $130 million. But the acquisition fell through. As ICT Group in a statement said: “ICT Group determined that it would not be in the best interest of the company to pursue the transaction proposed by Aegis.”

If successful, UCMS Group group would be Aegis twelfth acquisition. InOctober 2008, the company had acquires PeopleSupport-- a Nasdaq listed firm-- for $250 million