Icici Onesource Buys Out Firstring

Consolidation on, M&As of two types seen in BPO industry

ICICI OneSource, in a sign of consolidation in the booming business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, today said it will acquire call centre firm FirstRing in a cash-stock swap deal.

The ICICI Bank-owned company, which has signed a pact to acquire the Bangalore-based call centre, however, declined to comment on the cost of acquisition. Market sources, however, pegged the deal at $14 million.

While the Hero group and Ravi Sethi, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, both investors in FirstRing, have exited through an all-cash deal, ICICI OneSource has struck a stock swap with WestBridge Capital, another major investor in FirstRing. K P Balraj, director of WestBridge Capital, will join the board of ICICI OneSource.