NCO Group Owner Closes on Large BPO Acquisition

APAC Customer Services, Inc. announced last week that its shareholders had approved a merger agreement that will see the company acquired by One Equity Partners and absorbed into ARM giant NCO Group.

Pursuant to the merger agreement, APAC’s shareholders (other than shareholders who have perfected their statutory rights of appraisal under Illinois law) will receive $8.55 per share in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes, for each share of common stock they owned immediately prior to the effective time of the merger.

One Equity Partners is the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase.

One Equity specifically mentioned in the initial announcement that it intends to combine APAC with NCO Group’s platform. NCO Group is one of the largest providers of debt collection services in the world and a major player in the BPO space through its CRM business line.

“We believe this combination will allow both APAC and NCO to enhance the levels of service and support that they currently provide to their valued customers,” said Tom Kichler, Managing Director at One Equity Partners. “We are excited about investing behind the growth of these two great businesses.”

NCO has been focusing more on its customer service business line as it exits the debt buying business. The company in May expanded its call center-based BPO capabilities with the acquisition of Protocol Global Solutions, Inc., a provider of contact center services that employs 2,200 in seven locations. NCO currently claims a total of more than 24,000 “representative seats” at over 100 locations in 11 different countries.

In the first quarter of 2011, NCO’s customer relationship management unit accounted for 18.2 percent of the company’s total revenue, up slightly from the same period a year prior.

Kevin Keleghan, APAC’s President and CEO, commented, “We are thrilled to be entering into a new chapter in APAC’s history. My management team and I look forward to working with One Equity Partners to build a world-class enterprise dedicated to enhancing the customer experience. We believe that a partnership with NCO will create new opportunities for our company, our clients, and our people.”

APAC describes itself as a leading provider of quality customer care services and solutions to market leaders in healthcare, business services, communications, media & publishing, travel & entertainment, financial services and technology industries.