By Kalpana Shah
WNS Global Service said Wednesday that it will buy Marketics Technologies for $65 million, improving the Indian business process outsourcing company’s analytics services.
WNS will pay $30 million for the Bangalore-based firm when the deal closes in three months, and an additional earn-out payment of up to $35 million over a 12-month period.
"This acquisition will enhance our knowledge services leadership, help us penetrate new consumer-centric industries, and move us further up the value chain in our service offering,” WNS Group CEO Neeraj Bhargava said in a statement.
Founded in 2003 by tech professionals, Marketics attracted serial entrepreneur K. Ganesh as an investor and board member in 2005. Marketics counts Fortune 50 companies among its clients and delivers marketing analytics systems that aim to increase its clients’ profitability and return on marketing investments.
For WNS, a back office services company that started life in Mumbai as an offshore support provider for customers of British Airways, the acquisition of Marketics will add to its services in market research, business and financial research, and analytics.
Adding Expertise
The Marketics acquisition also will add expertise in industries such as consumer goods, retail, media, and entertainment to WNS’ existing talents in the travel, banking, financial services, and insurance industries.
In July 2006, WNS was the first Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) company to list on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $224 million.
According to a report by the research firm GlobalSourcingNow, the global knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) industry is expected to reach revenues of $17 billion by 2010, of which $12 billion would be outsourced to India. Apart from India, countries such as Russia, China, the CzechRepublic, Ireland, and Israel are also expected to contribute to the KPO industry.
IndiaChinaRepublicIsraelThe numbers help explain why WNS needs a company like Marketics. Low-end outsourcing services such as call center staffing and even some back-office work such as payroll outsourcing are expected to grow to 26 percent by 2010, according to GlobalSourcingNow.
In contrast, the global KPO market will grow 46 percent by 2010. In addition, KPO services fetch six to eight times the rate charged for low-end BPO services.