The Hindu Business Line : ICICI OneSource buys majority stake in US business research co

IN its bid to move up the BPO value chain, ICICI OneSource on Wednesday announced a majority 51 per cent shareholding in business research and analytics firm, Pipal Research of the US.

The BPO service provider plans to enter the lucrative $15-billion business research market cross-selling Pipal's capabilities in customised business research, analytics and information services. According to PwC, the global market for research and information services is estimated at $150 billion.

"We cannot disclose the value of the deal but the reason for acquiring a small company is because it gives us the platform to grow. We might consider increasing the stake later," Mr Ananda Mukherji, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI OneSource, said.

Pipal currently tracks $1.5 million (in revenues) and has seen a hundred per cent growth. Pipal Research with 50 consultants based in Delhi and 7 professionals in the US recently bagged a large mandate from a client, Mr Manoj Jain, CEO, Pipal Research, said.

"While we were earlier unable to bag large deals, the ICICI brand will help us to show scale to clients." Mr Jain said. Pipal's offerings are targeted at commercial banks, wholesale banking institutions, private equity firms and accounting firms.

ICICI OneSource plans to cross-sell its BPO capabilities and Pipal's business analytics expertise to their roster of clients.

Mr Mukherji said the data analytics and customised business research service provided by Pipal will enable ICICI OneSource to target credit card companies and telecom firms.

Incidentally this is ICICI OneSource's third acquisition following the acquisition of Customer Asset in May 2003 and First Ring in July 2003.

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