WNS raises Rs1,000 crore in ADS; to list on NYSE

Mumbai: BPO major WNS Global services, previously part of British Airways, is all set for a debut on the New York Stock Exchange after raising over Rs1,000 crore ($224 million) in an initial public offer (IPO) of American Depositary Shares (ADS. The offer represents 28 per cent of the company's equity capital.

WNS (Holdings), the parent company of leading offshore business process outsourcing provider WNS Global Services, said that it has priced the IPO of more than 11.2 million ADS at $20 each.

British Airways PLC had sold its 14.6 per cent stake in the India-based company for a net $96 million (52 million pounds) as part of the company's listing.

Mumbai-based WNS, started as a unit of British Airways 10 years ago, specialises in offshore business services to the travel and financial-services industries. It has clients varying from IndyMac Bank to Virgin Atlantic Airways.

A number of Indian IT companies are lining up offers and setting up BPO divisions amidst a business-processing outsourcing business boom.

A Nasscom-McKinsey study estimates the BPO market to grow at an annual compound rate of 37 per cent to $55 billion by fiscal 2010, a WNS SEC filing pointed out.