Outsourcer Aegis lines up $400 million IPO

Aegis, Essar group’s back office services arm, aims to raise up to $400 million through an initial public offering (IPO).
It hasn’t set a timeline for this yet, Aparup Sengupta, CEO, Aegis, told DNA Money.

“We are in conversation with bankers and will take another 3-4 months to finalise things. But I am looking at the UK, the US and India as the primary markets for the IPO,” he said.
The company plans to tap China, too, albeit differently.
The way it is going, China could overtake India in the business process outsourcing, or BPO, market, said Sengupta. “Who knows, Huawei might even overtake Big Blue (IBM) in another five years. China is making all-out efforts to improve soft skills of its people.”

“But more than a threat, I consider China as an opportunity. As an organisation, I would like to include it as a delivery destination,” he said.

The company also plans to expand presence in geographies like the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
“I do not want to be a company which calls itself a global player but operates out of India with Indian employees,” said Sengupta, adding that more than 50% of Aegis’s global workforce is non-Indian.

But he remains gung-ho on India as well. The company, which derives 35% of its revenue from the Indian market, sees the geography contributing $300 million this year.

The Aegis head also pooh-poohed slowdown fears saying there is much the companies can do to save on costs. “Around 80% of a company’s work is still handled internally. They can easily outsource accounts, payroll, etc, which is not their core strength. However, by outsourcing, I do not mean offshoring,” said Sengupta.

He expects the company to log an overall growth of 25% this year.