TransWorks looks for acquisitions

TransWorks, the BPO and CRM services company, has earmarked close to $ 20 million for its inorganic growth. The company is on the look out for acquiring specific domain expertise. The acquisitions are likely to take place within the next 4-6 months.

"After being taken over by the Aditya Birla Group, our organic growth has been good. We are aware that we have access to capital. We are constantly looking at inorganic growth. We would not like to acquire in order to build up scale, but to build domain expertise," Prakash Gurbaxani, CEO, TransWorks, said.

TransWorks has appointed Ernst&Young as the investment banker to help them in their inorganic growth. On the amount it has earmarked for acquisition, Gurbaxani said, "For a low-end practice, we may pay upto US $ 5 million, while it may be as high as US $ 20 million for acquiring a high-end practice."

Without specifying the companies that TransWorks is targeting, Gurbaxani said sectors like healthcare, insurance, real estate, collections and business intelligence are sectors that it is eyeing.

TransWorks has also decided to invest US $ 4 million in the current year to add about 500 seats in Bangalore. The company plans to grow in excess of 100 per cent in the current fiscal, after registering a turnover of US $ 15.4 million in the previous fiscal.

Currently, TransWorks is about 2,600-strong and has 1,650 seats in three centres across the country.

By the end of this year, the company plans to have 3,500 people on board.

According to Gurbaxani, "We have now reached a stage where it is imperative to have the right mix of business. A right mix will determine the growth of the company."

TransWorks derives about 40 per cent of its revenues from in-bound calls, while out-bound calls constitute for 38 per cent of its business. The balance comes from e-mail and back office work.

The company serves nearly 20 customers, including 10 Fortune 500 companies across North America, UK and Australia.