New Delhi: Raman Roy, former Wipro Spectramind chairman and known as the pioneer of the Indian business process oustsourcing industry, is acquiring a 40-per cent stake in market research firm Annik Technology Services (ATS). "I am very excited about being associated with Annik and Rahul," says Roy.

ATS is a Gurgaon-based, five-year-old market research and analytics firm founded by Rahul Sahgal, the CEO and president of the company. The company assists global organisations with the execution and analysis of their survey research requirements, along with the development of tools related to data warehousing, data mining and analysis.

Before his much publicised exit from Spectramind, Roy had led the BPO operations of American Express and GE.

Apart from Mr Roy and his team, other investors in the company will include Vikas Srivastava, managing partner of Luthra and Luthra, a chartered accountants firm that has acted as advisor to Annik Technology.

According to Rahul Sahgal, CEO and president of Annik Technology: "This strategic alliance with one of the most reputed and successful management teams in the BPO segment is a great win-win for both."

"Our domain knowledge coupled with Mr Raman and his team's background in creating and scaling quality organisations gives us a competitive edge that will allow us to grow Annik with new and existing customers," he added.

ATS has over 230 employees who operate out of India and service clients in the US, Europe and Australia. According to the company, the investment signals a strategic intent to support high-end knowledge-related services.