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Warburg buys stake in BA India business unit

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

MUMBAI: Leading global private equity investor Warburg Pincus on Thursday

said it has taken a majority stake in British Airways' Indian remote processing

unit WNS.

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It did not indicate the stake size or the amount invested.

Formerly known as Speedwing World Network Services, the 1,500-people strong

business process outsourcing (BPO) company has centres in the western cities of

Mumbai and Pune, and does revenue accounting, accounts management, data analysis

and customer management activity.

WNS needed investments to help it scale up its operations and globalise and

the Warburg backing would aid that objective, Roger Maynard, British Airways

director of Investments and Alliances, said in a statement.

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British Airways is WNS' largest client but the company has also been offering

support services to other airlines and companies in the insurance,

pharmaceutical and market research industries.

"The BPO sector worldwide is poised to witness tremendous growth and

India, given its rich human resource capital and intrinsic cost advantages is

well positioned to dominate this space globally," Dalip Pathak, managing

director of Warburg Pincus Singapore said in a statement.

WNS was one of the early players in the BPO business in India. Several

multinationals driven by the need to cut costs are increasingly setting up such

backoffice operations in India. Pathak said WNS with its early mover advantage

and experience could become a leading global organisation in the BPO area.

Warburg Pincus has invested over $650 million in India so far -- its biggest

exposure in the Asia-Pacific region. Other key investments include Bharti

Tele-Ventures, Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Housing Development Finance Corporation,

Moser Baer and Nicholas Piramal.

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