Barclays has acquired a 12.75% stake in Intelenet Global Services, an Indian BPO outfit controlled by Blackstone Group. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Intelenet was originally established as a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC in 2000. HDFC later acquired TCS' stake in the venture and Barclays purchased a 50% stake in the company in 2004 for £19 million.
Barclays and HDFC sold Intelenet to Blackstone in 2007 for an undisclosed fee but the bank has continued to use the firm as a provider and has had a nominee on the board.
Now the UK bank has retaken a 12.75% stake in the holding company SKR BPO Services ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) for the company, which employees 32,000 people and posted full year revenues of $240 million in March.
A senior Intelenet official told reporters today that the company is planning to raise funds in an IPO in one or two years, possibly listing in the US or UK.
Susir Kumar,MD and CEO, Intelenet, says: "We are pleased to again welcome Barclays as a shareholder and are grateful to them for their unwavering support. This deal goes onto demonstrate the trust and the exemplary working relationship between both the organisations over the last 6 years."