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In its largest acquisition ever, NYSE-listed Business Process Management (BPM) company WNS has bought US-based HealthHelp for $95 million (about ₹627 crore) to strengthen its offerings for healthcare and insurance verticals. The deal excludes adjustments for cash, debt and working capital.
This is the eighth acquisition for WNS since its NYSE listing in 2006, with the most recent of its being that of US-based Denali Sourcing Services for $40 million.
“With the acquisition of HealthHelp, WNS has taken a major step forward in strengthening our healthcare and insurance BPM offerings. WNS plans to leverage HealthHelp’s industry-leading capability in care management to address the needs of payer, provider and insurance organisations,” WNS Chief Executive Officer Keshav R. Murugesh said.
“HealthHelp’s deep industry expertise, differentiated market approach and extensive use of technology and analytics make this asset an excellent fit for WNS. In combination with our existing strengths, we believe there are significant opportunities to cross-sell services and create state-of-the-art solutions for the BPM industry,” he added. WNS has funded the acquisition, which is expected to contribute about $2.3 million in revenue for WNS in the fiscal year ending March 31, primarily through long-term debt. The buy is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, excluding one-time transaction costs of about $1.4 million.
Cain Brothers & Co was the financial adviser and Reed Smith the legal advisor to WNS.
HealthHelp provides benefits management across several specialty areas such as radiology, cardiology, oncology, sleep care, orthopedics and pain management. Founded in 1999 and based in Houston, Texas, the healthcare firm employs about 400 medical and operational professionals in the US.
Acquisition spree In an interview to BusinessLine in February, Murugesh said that WNS had “undrawn lines of credit and a strong balance sheet” and would be looking for “small buys” that helps the company grow.
The other recent buys of the company included Value Edge ($17.5 million) in 2016, Fusion Outsourcing ($10 million) in 2012, Call 24/7 ($16million) in 2008 and Trinity Partners ($60 million) in 2005.
“We look forward to jointly creating new and enhanced industry-specific solutions to reduce the long-term costs of healthcare, improve outcomes for payers, providers and patients, and grow our business,” said Cherrill Farnsworth, CEO, HealthHelp.
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