Ebookers mulls India call center spin-off

LONDON: The head of British online travel agency Ebookers Plc said that he was considering spinning off its Indian call center operation, which could be worth over $150 million.

Dinesh Dhamija, the founder and chief executive of Ebookers, said the flotation of Technovate was an option once it had attracted some outside clients.

He said Technovate currently only provided services for Ebookers but was in talks to add third party clients. He declined to say when they could be signed up.

Dhamija said an investor had taken a 3-1/4 percent stake in Technovate in October for $5 million, indicating the business was worth $154 million.

"We wouldn't have taken an investment if we weren't going to come to the market at some stage," he said.

Technovate is a business process outsourcing unit providing low-cost IT, accounting and other services in addition to its call center function.

Dhamija said the business, based in New Delhi, had 700 employees and had taken space to expand to 2,000 workers.

© Reuters