PLDT unit SPi Global acquires Indian BPO firm

MANILA, Philippines - SPi Global, the largest Filipino-owned full service business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has acquired Laserwords Private Ltd. from India’s Murugappa Group.

SPi Global is a wholly-owned subsidiary of telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

Laserwords, meanwhile, is one of the pioneers and most successful publishing BPO companies in India.

SPi Global president and CEO Maulik Parekh said this acquisition will expand the depth and breadth of the company’s content solutions business that is hard to rival in the industry.

 “With the combined strength of two leaders in the global publishing space, our clients will get unmatched and an even more comprehensive suite of solutions for print, electronic and database products,” Parekh explained.

Like SPi Global, Laserwords enjoys a long track record in the industry. Founded in 1983, it is a well-known and successful outsourcing partner for some of the world’s leading educational, academic and professional publishers. Laserwords has production facilities spread over India and the United States and provides a range of solutions that include production, editorial, multimedia, conversion and technology.

“This strategic acquisition will complement SPi Global’s strong presence in the scientific, technical, medical and legal verticals with Laserwords’ established foothold in the education sector. We expect that this will expand and deepen our engagements with existing clients and also attract prospective clients,” Parekh added.

SPi Global has been in the content solutions business for more than 30 years. It has been awarded as the No. 1 print and publishing outsourcing vendor by the Black Book of Outsourcing.

Earlier this year, SPi Global was named BPO Company of the Year in the International ICT Awards. It also bested other foreign BPO companies in Vietnam to win the Sao Khue 2011 prize for the Best BPO Service in the BPO services category, recognizing SPi Global’s excellent BPO solutions.

The company has also been ranked among the top 100 outsourcing service providers in the world by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ (IAOP) Global Outsourcing 100 list, the sixth consecutive year it was included in this list.

SPi Global has 24 offices and facilities around the world including the US, Netherlands, Philippines, India, Vietnam and Australia. It has over 15,000 employees delivering a wide range of solutions in customer relationship management, content and healthcare.