Exclusive-Outsourcing firm WNS fields takeover interest, sources say

Milana Vinn and Amy-Jo Crowley

Tue, Apr 1, 2025, 10:16 AM 2 min read

By Milana Vinn and Amy-Jo Crowley

NEW YORK (Reuters) -WNS Holdings, a exertion outsourcing services steadfast with a marketplace worth of $2.8 billion, is exploring a merchantability aft attracting acquisition involvement from imaginable suitors including Capgemini, according to radical acquainted with the matter.

WNS, which traces its roots to India, is moving with its concern bankers astatine JPMorgan Chase to measure its talks with funny parties, which see French exertion radical Capgemini and different rival accusation exertion services firms, the sources said, requesting anonymity arsenic the discussions are confidential.

If the talks are successful, a woody could beryllium signed successful the coming weeks, the sources said, cautioning that the deliberations are fluid and WNS could take not to proceed with a transaction. WNS shares jumped much than 14% connected the quality to interaction a 52-week precocious connected Tuesday, earlier paring immoderate gains.

WNS, Capgemini, and JPMorgan declined to comment.

WNS, which is led by IT services manufacture seasoned Keshav Murugesh, was launched successful 1996 by British Airways successful Mumbai arsenic a subsidiary to negociate the back-office exertion operations of the airline. WNS was carved retired arsenic an autarkic institution successful 2002 aft backstage equity steadfast Warburg Pincus took a bulk involvement successful the business.

It provides services including concern process outsourcing and information analytics, and its customers see ample organizations specified arsenic Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, and United Airlines.

WNS chiefly competes against larger bundle exporters specified arsenic Cognizant and Genpact, which employment thousands of engineers successful low-cost locations similar India for bundle codification penning and exertion maintenance. WNS precocious acquired Houston-based Kipi.ai, an analytics and artificial quality services vendor, arsenic it looks to pat into the roar successful request for AI services.

For the 4th ended Dec. 31, WNS reported gross of $333 million, up from $326.2 cardinal a twelvemonth earlier, portion its nett roseate to $48.6 cardinal from $41.5 million. The company's shares person risen astir 30% since its latest quarterly results came successful enactment with marketplace expectations, pursuing six consecutive quarters of disappointing results.

(Reporting by Milana Vinn successful New York and Amy-Jo Crowley successful London; Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain successful Paris; Editing by Anirban Sen and Chizu Nomiyama)