Everstone, Sunrise BPO to buy CRM solution provider C3 for $150 mn

The company targets to double the revenues of C3 and reach $500 million

Everstone Group, along with Singapore-based Sunrise BPO, has signed a definitive agreement to buy US-based C3 (CustomerContactChannels), a global CRM solutions provider.

While the company did not disclose the value, industry sources estimate it to be around $150 million and is a 100 per cent acquisition.

Sellers include Stone Point Capital and other management representatives. Stephen Friedman, former Goldman Sachs chairman is the chairman of C3.

The investment will be done via Everise Services in Singapore, a company held by Everstone, along with Sunrise BPO as a co-investor. This is the private equity (PE) fund’s first acquisition in the US, which has been focusing on India and South East Asia.

The new chief executive officer of Everise will be Sudhir Agarwal, the founder of Sunrise BPO. Sunrise will take the leading role in operating the business, in addition to bringing capital.

Everstone will be the largest financial investor and it will take the lead in C3’s India operational build-out to grow the company, said the PE firm. Founded in 2010, C3 is headquartered in the United States. C3 has expansive operations in the Philippines and Guatemala and reported revenue CAGR of more than 60% over the past six years.

This will be Everstone’s third investment through its latest private equity fund, ECP III, which raised $730 million last year, and the second investment into the ITES-enabled space after it acquired Servion Global Solutions, a leading Customer Engagement Management firm, in 2014.

The company has a marquee list of more than 20 clients in healthcare, telecommunications & media, consumer internet, logistics, retail, travel & hospitality and financial services. C3 also provides training and consulting in the customer management solutions space, as well as sales, performance optimization, reputation management and complete customer lifecycle management via traditional, web, and emerging communication channels. C3 provides multi-lingual support to clients and has seven operating centers across the U.S., the Philippines and Guatemala, with nearly 8,000 employees. C3’s US headquarters is in Plantation, Florida. Everise plans to make C3 into a US$500-plus million revenue company in the next five years, from nearly $200 million currently.

As part of this strategy, Singapore-based Sunrise BPO Pte. Ltd (Sunrise BPO), will take the leading role in operating the business, in addition to bringing capital. Everstone will be the largest financial investor and it will take the lead in C3’s India operational build-out to grow the company.

“We are excited to partner with Sunrise in the acquisition of this marquee business. I look forward to leveraging our deep understanding of the sector and strong presence in India to further build C3’s global business,” Sameer Sain, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of the Everstone Group, said. Sudhir Agarwal added to the positive assessment. “It’s a privilege to help lead a company like C3 that has made a significant impact on the outsourced CRM solutions space in such a short time.”

“Sunrise BPO not only brings capital, along with our key partner Everstone, but we also bring in the capability to rapidly scale C3’s business in the US and Asia and greatly improve customer experience, working closely with all of C3’s amazingly skilled employees and agents,” Agarwal added. Everise will acquire 100% of C3. The current President & COO of C3, Rick Ferry, along with C3’s experienced leadership team, will continue as part of the leadership in his new role as CEO-USA. “The team and I are committed and excited about this move and will work with Everise to grow the business globally,” Ferry said.

Prateek Dhawan, Managing Director – Private Equity, Everstone Group will join the Everise board. “Taking the C3 platform and enhancing its delivery model using analytics and other technology tools is a huge opportunity,” Dhawan said. “We look forward to growing C3 organically, as well as inorganically.”