PwC Sells Business Process Outsourcing for $17 Million

Irvine, Calif. (June 11, 2003) -- Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers sold its international business process outsourcing operations to Exult Inc., a provider of human resources-led business process outsourcing for Global 500 companies, for $17 million. Regulatory issues prompted the divestiture.

"BPO has been a strategic service line within PwC for several years, and the business has gained recognition as a leader in the BPO market. However, the demands of the regulatory environment have caused PwC to divest this business,” said Richard Smith, PwC BPO global leader. The firm has one remaining international BPO contract.

The acquired business includes blue chip client contracts with remaining terms of two to six years and revenues of nearly $25 million per year, Exult said. Total scheduled revenue over the remaining terms of these contracts is approximately $100 million.

As part of the deal, Exult will gain clients that include Standard Chartered Bank, Equifax (U.K.), Safeway (U.K.), Tibbett & Britten, and Grupo Algar, bringing its list of blue chip BPO clients to 15. Exult will add approximately 500 PwC BPO employees to its ranks. The transaction will also broaden Exult's geographic coverage to include service centers in South America and the U.K., along with a presence in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore.

-- WebCPA staff

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