IBM Sells Customer Care Unit For $505M

IBM has signed an agreement that will see Synnex acquire Big Blue’s worldwide customer care business process outsourcing services unit for $505 million (£319m).  The sale is made up of approximately $430 million (£272m) in cash and $75 million (£47m) in stock.

The acquisition will be branded and integrated with Concentrix, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Synnex. As part of the contract, Synnex will enter into a multi-year agreement with IBM, and Concentrix will develop into an IBM strategic business partner for global customer care business process outsourcing services.  IBM’s business strategy has been to consistently shift its portfolio to higher-value offerings, through acquisitions and divestitures.  The customer care process services business is developing, with big data analytics software playing a greater role in transforming how customer care is delivered as a unique experience. Using its Smarter Commerce initiative, IBM is a leader in applying its strengths in big data and analytics to help chief marketing officers and retail industry clients leverage big data for more targeted services that customer’s value.

Concentrix is a provider of customer care services, including call centres, as well as specialised end-to-end processing for insurers, health care clients and banks. As a result of acquiring IBM’s customer care business process outsourcing unit, Concentrix will manage customer care business process outsourcing for trade in more than 12 industries, as well as front- and back-office services for retail and commercial banking and claims processing for life, annuity and health insurance.  IBM will continue to invest in new technologies and acquisitions for business process services in areas including finance and accounting, mortgage services supply chain management and human resources.

By partnering with Concentrix for customer care services and leveraging Concentrix’s ongoing investments in this business, IBM and Concentrix plan to deliver a solid advance for transforming and delivering high-value interactions at all stages of the customer care lifecycle.  “Our clients are investing at an unprecedented rate, in order to engage with and service clients across multiple channels…This partnership between IBM and Synnex will provide our clients with the innovation they have come to expect from IBM through our deep capabilities in advanced analytics, social business, cloud and smarter commerce, complemented by Concentrix’s flexible and adaptive global customer care delivery network.”  Lori Steele, general manager of IBM Global Process Services, said in a statement.   The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, and after the transaction closes, IBM will have an equity interest in Synnex, IBM officials have said.

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SOURCE: http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/ibm-sells-customer-care-unit-126876