TCS emerges as front runner for SPS

MUMBAI, INDIA: The Chennai-based Scientific Publishing Services (SPS) plans to hive off its BPO business has been in the news for a while now. The many suitors that have made overtures towards SPS include leading players like WNS, Genpact, Wipro, Infosys and Firstsource Solutions.

But sources have it that the company has rebuffed all of these moves because the management believes it deserves more than the $100 million that the top bidders have offered. As things turn out now, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) headed by CEO S Ramadorai, and a clutch of private equity players have emerged as front runners for the business.

While it is unclear how much India’s largest software services has bid for SPG, its offer, sources said, have caught the attention of the top brass. If the deal goes through, TCS will add to its tally a 1,500-strong workforce that operates mostly out of Chennai. The city, incidentally, is home to at least 15 of the top 30 publishing BPOs in the country, of which, SPS is the largest.