OREANDA-NEWS. Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Digitex, a Spanish provider of Business Process Outsourcing services (BPO), with an established presence in Spain and across Latin America.

Capital for this investment will come from Carlyle Europe Partners IV (CEP IV), a European-focused upper-mid market buyout fund. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2016, subject to customary requirements and regulatory approvals. 

Founded more than 25 years ago, , and controlled by Altra Investments since 2009, Digitex has significant experience in integrated management solutions and business processes, customer care, back office support and IT process consulting. The company employs more than 16,000 people across offices in Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Guatemala and El Salvador. Customers include major companies operating in telecommunications, financial services, insurance, industrials and energy.

Digitex has experienced strong growth over the last five years, posting a 9.1% and 13.8% increase in revenues and EBITDA, respectively.  2015 revenues were around €177m sales, with EBITDA of around €20m.

The investment in Digitex follows Carlyle’s recent announcement in December 2015 of its intention to acquire Comdata, an Italian BPO company. 

Marco De Benedetti, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle Europe Partners, commented: “Carlyle’s investment in Digitex will help support the company’s expansion ambitions.  It is a strong business in the BPO industry, with well-run operations in Europe and Latin America. Looking ahead, we see strong potential for expansion in high growth markets, including Brazil and Argentina, and across the United States”.

Dario Duran, Founding Partner at Altra Investments said: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with a strong global financial sponsor that will effectively support Digitex in its next phase of development, with continuity in the leadership team and overall strategy of the business”. 

Angel Parra, Digitex CEO, added: “We are excited about the future and the many opportunities this transaction creates for Digitex and its 16,000 employees.   Partnering with Carlyle will allow us to further consolidate our presence in the markets we currently participate in, and expand our geographical footprint and client base, both in Europe and the Americas.  This transaction makes us stronger and positions us well to continue innovating and delivering high-value-added BPO & Customer Care solutions to our clients.”

The Carlyle Group was advised by Latham & Watkins, and BTG Pactual and Garrigues advised Digitex.

 

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $183 billion of assets under management across 126 funds and 160 fund of funds vehicles as of December 31, 2015. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,700 people in 36 offices across six continents.

About Carlyle Europe Partners

Carlyle Europe Partners (CEP) seeks to invest in mid-size companies in Europe across a wide range of sectors and industries, accelerate their growth and support their efforts to expand internationally. The current fund is now the fourth in the CEP franchise. The fund is managed by a team of 39 investment professionals across five offices.  In total, over 140 investors from 35 countries have made commitments to the CEP IV fund. 

About Digitex
Digitex is one of the largest BPO companies in Latin America, focused on providing BPO services to Spanish-speaking MNCs with a significant presence in LatAm. It offers services to global customers such as Telef?nica, BBVA, Endesa, and Siemens across three divisions, including customer support, back office, and IT.

About Altra Partners
Founded in 2005, Altra is a value oriented buyout firm focused on midcap companies in the Andean region with offices in Bogot?, Colombia and Lima, Peru. Altra seeks to make investments in companies that have significant potential for improved performance and growth. Within the midcap segment, Altra acquires control and “effective control” positions in companies to operate in industries that are large, highly fragmented, and/or significantly underpenetrated. In this context, the firm targets equity investments of $20 million to $50 million in companies with revenues ranging from $15 million to $100 million. Altra estimates that there are currently over 3,200 such companies in Colombia and Per?, a significant majority of which are family-owned and/or closely held and have the potential to represent excellent candidates for improved performance and growth in conjunction with Altra’s equity sponsorship.