Essar completes sale of BPO business to Capital Square Partners

The Ruia-led group has been under pressure to sell assets and repay its loans

Ruia-led Essar Group said it has concluded the sale of Aegis BPO to Capital Square Partners for $300 million (nearly Rs 2,000 crore).

This marks the exit of Essar Global's from the business process outsourcing business and now it is wholly-owned by the Singapore-based private equity firm.

Essar group has been under pressure to sell assets and repay its loans. The group had also started a process to sell 98 per cent stake in Essar Oil to a consortium led by Russia's oil major Rosneft for $10.9 billion and another $2 billion for related infrastructure assets.

The group said that proceeds from the sale of Aegis BPO and Essar Oil have enabled it to retire nearly Rs 75,000 crore of debt.

"The closure of this transaction is in line with Essar's intent to reduce the leverage that is complemented by an asset monetisation programme. The transaction also marks Essar Global's complete exit from the BPO business after creating significant value through organic growth and strategic acquisitions that helped diversify customer offerings," said the company in a statement.

Essar had, however, announced the sale of the BPO business should be completed by June.

Aegis, which earned revenues of $400 million from global operations and $100 million in domestic business, had said it would look to double its revenue over a period of three years with investment and customer referrals from its new owners.