The UK-headquartered, India-centric IT outsourcing company Xansa is in advanced talks for selling out.
Major bidders include Indian as well as global IT majors including Accenture and Cap Gemini. The deal, according to sources, is in final stages. Xansa’s Indian operations comprise close to 6,000 people compared to about 3,500 in UK. Though no details on the sale price are avialable, market sources expect it to be sold at a 25% to 30 % premium over its current share-priced based valuation of about $686 million. Significantly, Xansa had reported growth in a full year for the first time since financial year 2002. In India, the company has development centres in Noida, Chennai and Pune. It had forayed into India after acquiring Delhi-based IIS Infotech Ltd in 1998. IIS Infotech founders included NASSCOM chairman Emeritus, Saurabh Srivastava. Interestingly, Xansa CEO Alistair Cox left the company recently and non-executive chairman Bill Alexander is acting as temporary chief executive. Its shares have been under pressure, despite strong numbers posted in the recent results. Revenue grew by 6.3% to ?357.5 m and operating profit was up 9.7%. Xansa’s operating margin was thus up at 5.6%. This comes close on the heels of Infosys buying three back-office service centers from Philips. Just like Philips BPO, Xansa had been building its finance and accounting capabilities and its clients include British Telecom, LloydsTSB and Barclays.
