In a regulatory filing made after trading hours on Monday (September 23), the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company said that its wholly owned subsidiary Firstsource Solutions UK (FSL UK) has executed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with the shareholders of Ascensos, UK, for acquisition of 100% ownership in Ascensos.
Ascensos is a provider of BPM services for the retail, consumer, and e-commerce verticals. It has presence in UK, South Africa, Romania and Trinidad. For 2023, the company had recorded a consolidated turnover of GBP 64.1 million.
FSL UK has acquired 100% stake in Ascensos for a cash consideration of GBP 42 million, including upfront payment and earnouts.
Offering details about the objects and effects of acquisition, Firstsource stated that this acquisition would add strategically important vertical of retail to our existing domain strengths in BFS, CMT, healthcare, and energy and utilities.
It would expand our nearshore delivery presence with addition of Ascensos' scaled presence in South Africa, Romania and Trinidad & Tobago and strengthen the company’s multi-lingual capabilities for CX services.
It would provide the company with the potential to provide services to Ascensos' existing customer base from our existing offshore locations in India and Philippines.
Firstsource further informed that Ascensos will operate as a separate business unit within Firstsource, keeping its existing brand and maintaining its Scottish HQ while using the combined company’s technological capabilities and expert employees to serve the retail industry better. John Devlin will remain as CEO, guaranteeing continuity for Ascensos clients.
Dr. Sanjiv Goenka, chairman - RPSG Group and Firstsource, commented: “This acquisition is aligned with the strategic capabilities Firstsource has been pursuing toward growth and expansion.
We’re thrilled about the potential that Ascensos’s extensive retail knowledge, Firstsource’s advanced technology, and the RPSG Group’s deep expertise bring together. Retail and CPG BPO Market is a $28 billion market globally.
Ascensos opens a host of new growth opportunities for us that are underpinned by our strategy of delivering differentiated services built on deep industry knowledge and tailored technology. This collaboration will benefit our current clients and enable us to pursue new opportunities in the thriving retail sector.”
Firstsource Solutions is a global provider of business process management (BPM) services and an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company.
The company’s consolidated net profit increased 7.3% to Rs 135.25 crore on 16.8% rise in net sales to Rs 1,783.87 crore in Q1 FY25 over Q1 FY24.