Aegis likely to hire 12,000 staff globally

Essar Group's back office unit Aegis said it will augment its global workforce by 12,000, summing up the total headcount to 43,000, by end of this fiscal. The company plans to hire 1,000 people every month in India and across United States, Philippines, Costa Rica and Africa where it has operations.

"We will be recruiting a thousand people every month, so this year we will add 12,000 to our workforce globally. We have already hired 3,000 people since the beginning of this fiscal," Aegis Ltd managing director and Global CEO Aparup Sengupta said.

"The Ruias-led company has earmarked a capital expenditure of $30-35 million this year, excluding cost on infrastructure," he said. Despite the global downturn, Aegis is eyeing a turnover of over $550 million and aims to grow by over 50% in 2009-10. "There is still an opportunity for outsourcing," Sengupta said.

Agencies

Will Aegis Buy Australia's UCMS Group?

Essar Group's back office arm Aegis Ltd has agreed to buy Australian business process outsourcing firm UCMS Group Ltd in a cash deal worth about A$54 million, the firms said in a statement on Friday.

Aegis, through affiliate firm Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Ltd, will pay UCMS stockholders A$0.98 per share, a 133 percent premium over Thursday's closing price of A$0.42 per share, they added in the joint statement.

"Australia and New Zealand logically become a part of our growth strategy and offer an opportunity for Aegis to expand its footprint in this geography," said Aparup Sengupta, global chief executive officer and managing director of Aegis. The transaction is expected to close in in the third quarter and is subject to approvals from shareholders and the Supreme Court of Victoria and other customary closing conditions, they added.

With this acquisition, Aegis will have operations in India, Philippines, the United States, Costa Rica, Kenya and Australia. Last year, Aegis acquired outsourcing firm PeopleSupport Inc.

Agencies