French BPO Teleperformance, US tech major Convergys and three others are vying to acquire Intelenet

French BPO firm Teleperformance, US IT major Convergys, Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia, Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Boston-based investment firm Bain Capital are reportedly in the race to acquire Indian BPO firm Intelenet Global Services for over $1 billion.

According to a report in The Economic Times , the aforementioned firms have been shortlisted as potential suitors for the Indian firm after they tabled non-binding bids in April. The five potential suitors are currently conducting due diligence for Intelenet.

Teleperformance and CVC Capital Partners are believed to be strong contenders in the fight to acquire the Indian BPO firm, the newspaper said.

Mumbai-headquartered Intelenet, which is backed by American private equity major Blackstone Group, employs 55,000 people, spread across the Americas, the UK, Europe, Middle East, India and the Philippines.

In March, the Business Standard reported that Blackstone had initiated the process to sell its stake in Intelenet. Carlyle and Bain Capital have reportedly shown their interest to acquire the Indian BPO firm. “The process has started and the top 4-5 global funds are certainly there engaged in the discussion,” senior industry sources were quoted as saying by the newspaper in March.

Intelenet was founded in 2001 by HDFC and Tata Consulting Services (TCS) as an equal joint venture. In 2007, Blackstone bought an 80 percent stake in Intelenet for $260 million. In 2011, when the company was sold to the international service company Serco, Blackstone owned a 66 percent stake.

In 2015, Blackstone bought back Intelenet from Serco for $383 million (Rs 2,558 crore).