IPVG offers PeopleSupport non-disclosure agreement

Information technology and gaming conglomerate IPVG Corp. is proposing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with rival firm PeopleSupport Inc. in line with its bid to acquire the Nasdaq-listed BPO firm.

 In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, IPVG and its partner AO Capital Partners Ltd.  said the execution of an NDA would “facilitate the exchange of non-public information regarding the financing structure” of its all cash takeover offer for PeopleSupport. 

IPVG chief executive officer Enrique Gonzalez explained that the company would be “unable to share any non-public information with PeopleSupport unless it has signed an NDA which is customary for transactions such as this.”

The IPVG official said they have the financial resources to complete the deal, having completed several acquisitions around Asia and the United States.

“Together with AO Capital which has completed over $10 billion in transactions, our firms have the right experience and resources to complete the proposed acquisition,” he said. 

“The reluctance of your board to sign the NDA and to engage us in direct meaningful discussions regarding this offer has thus far prevented discussions from moving forward. We would consider continued dialogue with you and your advisors in the future should you agree to our requests,” Gonzalez said in a letter to People Support chairman and CEO Lance Rosenzweig.

He earlier said funding for the acquisition of PeopleSupport would come from a combination of debt  and equity from internal and third parties.

IPVG has raised its offer to $17 a share from the $15 a share bid it made in November. PeopleSupport rejected the initial offer last Dec. 12 after finding it “inadequate”.  The offer was also found to have failed to take into account PeopleSupport’s strategic value and success in implementing its growth strategy.

IPVG said the revised takeover offer represents a substantial premium to the stated weighted average closing price and is a compelling opportunity for the company and its shareholders.

The increased takeover offer followed a careful deliberation of the recent initiatives, revised earnings guidance and new strategic planning of People Support.

While the bid was unsolicited, PeopleSupport said it would evaluate and consider the proposal.

Similar to its other target firms, IPVG sees PeopleSupport as a good acquisition given its scale, position in the marketplace and heavy concentration in the Philippines.

PeopleSupport is a leading offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) provider that offers customer management, transcription and captioning and additional BPO services from its centers in the Philippines, Costa Rica and the United States.  The company’s services are designed to reduce costs, improve performance and increase revenues by delivering high quality, value-added, multilingual voice and text services.

A majority of PeopleSupport’s services are performed in the Philippines, where PeopleSupport is one of the largest outsourcing companies, employing approximately 8,400 college-educated, fluent English speaking personnel.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 9,000 employees worldwide, PeopleSupport serves clients in a variety of industries, such as travel, consumer, financial services, healthcare, insurance, technology, telecommunications, entertainment and education

The bid is in line with IPVG’s goal to become one of the top BPO companies in the region by 2009.

IPVG currently owns IP-Contact Center Outsourcing Inc., which acquired the assets of Global Stride, a contact center operation located in IBM Plaza, Eastwood City, Libis.

IPVG also has BPO operations in Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and India.