1st July 2022 | New York/ Mumbai | Investment Banking
WNS (Holdings) Limited (WNS) (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of
global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced that
it has acquired Vuram, a global leader in enterprise automation
services.
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Vuram and its shareholders on this transaction.
Vuram helps companies accelerate digital transformation by aligning,
automating, and optimizing processes using a combination of low-code
software applications and intelligent automation platforms. By
integrating these technologies into core business operations, Vuram is
able drive end-to-end enterprise automation and the creation of custom,
scalable BPM solutions. These solutions include the ability to extract,
collect, and categorize data using Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
and Artificial Intelligence-based document processing, develop
rule-based processing engines and Machine Learning-based augmentation,
and leverage advanced analytics to improve decision-making. Vuram has
also created customizable, low-code, plug and play solutions across
front, middle, and back-office functions, including industry-specific
solutions for the Banking/Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare
verticals.
“WNS expects the acquisition of Vuram will accelerate our
organizational journey towards digitally-led, human-assisted services
and solutions. Their depth of knowledge in helping large global
companies drive fast, scalable enterprise automation and business
transformation is well-aligned with WNS’ short-term and long-term
strategic plans,” said
Keshav Murugesh, Chief Executive Officer, WNS. “We believe that
Vuram is an excellent fit for WNS with respect to capability, approach,
and culture, and brings a proven track record of delivering strong
growth, healthy margins, and exceptional customer value. We are pleased
to welcome the Vuram team to WNS.”
“Vuram is excited to join forces with WNS, an established leader in Business Process Management,” said Venkatesh Ramarathinam, Founder and CEO, Vuram.
“By combining the unique capabilities of our two companies, we will
enable clients to accelerate the automation, optimization, and
transformation of their business models. We look forward to working with
the WNS team to continue to create custom, technology-led solutions and
add to competitive advantage for our BPM clients.”
“This transaction is one of the largest sales of a hyper-automation
services specialist. Hyper-automation initiatives continue to garner
bigger portions of enterprise digital transformation spends as they
deliver quick ROI and help make enterprise workflows frictionless. WNS’
acquisition of Vuram creates massive synergy potential and enables them
to
handhold clients along their digital transformation journeys and it once
again underlines the increasing convergence of technology and BPM
services,” said Abhinav Goel, Executive Director, Enterprise Technology and Services Investment Banking, Avendus Capital.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Chennai, India, Vuram currently
employs approximately 900 digital resources in India, the United States,
Mexico, Australia, Canada, and the UK. Vuram was ranked among India’s
best companies to work for in 2022 (#52), and one of the top 25 best
workplaces in IT and IT-BPM (2021) by Great Place to Work Institute. The
company has also been recognized by industry analysts including Gartner
(Change Communications), ISG (Digital Consulting, Digital CX, Data
Engineering), and HFS (Integrated & Intelligent Automation
Services). Recently, Vuram was named to the Inc 5000 list of
fastest-growing US private companies.
Consideration for the transaction is USD 165 million including
up-front payment and expected earn-outs, and excludes adjustments for
cash, debt, and working capital. WNS has funded the up-front payment for
the acquisition with cash on hand. Based on Vuram’s revenue generated
in fiscal 2022. The acquisition is expected to add approximately 2% to
WNS’ net revenue in fiscal 2023, and to be accretive to fiscal 2023
adjusted earnings.
About Avendus
Avendus Group is a leading financial services firm with
presence in the areas of Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Credit
Solutions and Asset Management. Established in 1999 in Mumbai, India,
Avendus is today present in 10 cities across India, US, UK and
Singapore. Avendus partners with the Indian entrepreneur ecosystem to
provide differentiated solutions that enable clients to meet their
strategic aspirations.
Avendus Capital, the investment banking arm, is consistently
ranked among the top investment banks in the country on the back of its
in-depth domain understanding and a best in the class track record of
domestic and cross-border transactions. Avendus’ wide range of clients
is testimony to its ability to serve its corporates throughout their
life cycle
– from growth stage funding to large-sized transactions, and M&A
advisory.
Avendus Capital Inc located in New York is an Avendus Group entity offering M&A and Private Equity syndication services to clients in the US.
For more information, please visit www.avendus.com