Customer management services giant Convergys, based in Cincinnati, has acquired rival call center giant Stream Global Services for $820 million.
The acquisition will create a mammoth call center company with 125,000 employees - including 40,000 coming from Eagan, Minn.-based Stream. The combined company is expected to have $3 billion in revenue, making it the second largest provider of customer management services in the world. It will operate in 25 countries and have approximately 135 call centers, according to Convergys CEO Andrea Ayers.
Convergys has a large presence in India with offices across New Delhi, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Thane.
Company officials said they will finance the transaction mostly with $400 million cash on hand and a $350 million loan from Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Officials with both companies said in a statement that the deal will diversify the combined companys client base, extend its geographic reach around the world, add more employees with diverse language skills and add profit potential over the long haul.
The deal makes sense, says Ayers, because the companies complement one another in terms of clients, location and skill sets. Stream works largely with corporate clients that conduct business in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Ayers said the merger should help long-term prospects because the combined companies strengthen Convergys by diversifying our client base and enabling us to offer a wider range of customer transactions.
