ICICI OneSource only deal witnesed in July-September 2004
Only one India-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company – ICICI OneSource. which raised US$35 million – managed to attract venture capital investment during the July-September 2004 quarter. Data from TSJ Media, which tracks venture capital investments in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide, shows that VC investments in the BPO sector have been witnessing a decline ever since they hit an all-time high during the second quarter of 2003.
The latest quarter witnessed a decline in both the number of companies raising VC investment as well as amount raised when compared to the same period in 2003 (during which seven companies raised over $65.5 million) as well as the quarter ended June 2004 (when three companies raised over $54 million).
ICICI OneSource Ltd. (I-OneSource) raised its latest round of funding from Temasek Holdings and WestBridge Capital Partners. The Mumbai based company’s revenues grew 134% to $42 million in 2003-04. I-OneSource currently has about 4000 employees across five offshore delivery centers in Bangalore and Mumbai and in marketing teams based in the US and UK.
I-OneSource had entered the BPO space in May 2002 through the acquisition of Bangalore-based BPO firm CustomerAsset. In August 2003, I-OneSource had acquired WestBridge funded call center firm FirstRing. As part of that deal, Westbridge had obtained I-OneSource stock in return for its equity in First Ring and also made a fresh investment in the merged entity.
In M&A action during the latest quarter, Mumbai based BPO firm Infowavz was acquired by HIG Capital, a Miami, Florida (USA) based private equity firm. Infowavz had raised funds from ICICI Venture.
This report is brought to you by the TSJ Media, which tracks VC investments in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide.
