MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Another Indian outsourcing services company moves into Mercosur

Aegis, owned by India's Essar Group, currently has about 39,000 staff across 10 countries

Aegis, the outsourcing services arm of steel-to-shipping conglomerate Essar Group on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement to acquire Argentine business process outsourcing firm, Actionline.

Actionline is one of the largest BPO (Business Processor Outsourcing) in Argentina with over 5,000 associates, spread across seven centres in five cities, Aegis said in a statement. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Actionline's operations in Chile and Brazil are not included in the transaction, said Rabin Ghosh, a spokesman for Aegis.

The acquisition will give the company access to the growing market in Argentina and Latin America, the company said. Actionline will also serve as a base to service customers in similar time zones, it added.

Aegis does not currently have a presence in Latin America, Ghosh said.

A number of Indian outsourcers including India's largest, Tata Consultancy Services, have expanded in Latin America including through acquisitions.

Actionline is focused on the domestic market and serves telecommunications, banking, insurance and energy clients. As Argentina has very small time-zone differences with the U.S. and major European cities, Aegis plans to use it as a base for serving customers in these markets, Ghosh said.

The multilingual workforce in Argentina can be effectively tapped for not only the U.S. but also markets in Europe that do not speak English, the company said.

Aegis, owned by India's Essar Group, currently has about 39,000 staff across 10 countries including India and the Philippines. Actionline Argentina combines an offering of traditional contact-center services with capabilities in database management.

India’s Essar Group controls Essar Oil (ESRO.BO) and Essar Shipping and Logistics (ESRS.BO). The company recently listed its energy unit Essar Energy (ESSR.L) in London Stock Exchange.