INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - APRIL 1^st - APRIL 15^th - 2008

WNS ACQUIRES UK FIRM CALL 24/7 FOR $16 M

WNS (Holdings) has acquired Call 24/7, one of its key competitors in the auto insuranceclaims processing business in the UK in an all cash deal for around $16 million and earn-outs of approximately $3.2 million contingent on certain performance metrics. The acquisition will be integrated into WNS Assistance, its UK-subsidiary that deals with accident-management services. "While the acquisition is not a gigantic one, it is a fairly significant one. We will continue to make acquisitions that will be strategic to our existing businesses. That will be the priority although we will look at other areas as well," said Neeraj Bhargava, CEO, WNS Global Services. The acquisition is being funded through existing cash and cashequivalents of WNS. The earn-outs will also be paid in cash during fiscal 2009. WNS is the largest third-party provider of auto insurance claims processing in the UK. The company had also got the WNS Assistance business through an acquisition five years ago and since then, grown the revenues thrice, and the profits five times, Mr Bhargava said. It accounts for about 10% of WNS' revenue.