WNS acquires South African BPO Fusion Outsourcing

WNS (Holdings) Ltd, a provider of global business process solutions, has acquired South Africa-based BPO provider Fusion Outsourcing Services (Pty) Ltd, for £10 million and adjustments for cash and working capital.

The acquisition of the shares of Fusion from BFSL Limited, part of UK-based BGL Group of companies, is effective 21 June 2012, WNS said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to be funded from cash on hand, with about half of the consideration paid at completion and the remainder payable in tranches on or before 31 May 2013. Based on Fusion's existing book of business, the acquisition is expected to contribute incremental revenue of $9 million - $10 million for WNS in fiscal 2013, it added.

WNS expects the transaction to be neutral to adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2013, and accretive in fiscal 2014.

Fusion provides a range of outsourcing services, including contact centre, customer care and business continuity services to both South African and international clients. With operations in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Fusion currently employs approximately 1,500 people, WNS said in the statement.

WNS recently collaborated with Fusion to service one of WNS's largest UK-based clients with premium voice services.

''The acquisition of an established player like Fusion brings a new and highly leveragable asset to WNS. Expanding our global delivery footprint and entering emerging growth markets are key pillars of our investment strategy. We believe that establishing operations in South Africa addresses both of these objectives,'' WNS CEO Keshav Murugesh said.

''WNS currently has several existing and prospective clients interested in having services delivered from South Africa to take advantage of the English language capabilities, skilled talent pool and strong cultural work ethic. Longer term, we view this growing economy as an exciting end-market user of global BPO services, especially in the areas of finance and accounting and insurance-specific services,'' he added.