ExlService lines up $13 m for spread

The Noida-based ExlService Holdings, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has earmarked $11-$13 million this year for expansion.

According to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ExlService will set up 500-seat facility at Noida and another 500-seat facility overseas with the investment. ExlServices is listing on the Nasdaq with its $75 million issue.

Company officials, however, refrained from divulging further details.

On the setting up of the overseas centre, the filing said the company is contractually committed to one of its clients to establish and maintain an offshore BPO operation outside of India by six months. This will be the first overseas centre from the company.

The company may set up the facility in collaboration with a partner. It will, however, retain at least 26 per cent of the controlling interest, in case of a joint venture.

"This particular option and the geography of the foreign location is still under evaluation, " an official said. The Noida facility is scheduled to open by mid-2005. Thus far, the company has three centres.

As of September 30, 2004, ExlService had 4,551 employees in India and 12 other employees at its corporate headquarters in New York, and six sales and marketing employees in the US and the UK.

ExlService has 18 clients. Its largest clients are Norwich Union and Dell which together account for approximately 77.4 per cent of the company's total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2004.

The company generated revenues of $43.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2004.

Other BPO clients include Prudential Financial Inc, IndyMac Bank FSB, Deloitte & Touche, Conseco.

The present shareholders in the company are Oak Hill Partners, ST Ventures, NUI Investments, Vikram Talwar (the company's CEO) and Rohit Kapoor (the company's president and CFO).