WNS exit for Warburg

WNS, an Indian provider of offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) services headquartered in the UK, has floated on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), at a share price of US$20, giving it a market cap of US$796m.

The IPO raised US$224m and makes WNS the first Indian BPO provider to be listed on the NYSE.

Warburg Pincus has been an investor in the company since May 2002, when it was carved out of British Airways (BA). The UK airline retained a 14.6% stake which it subsequently sold in the float for US$96m, £52m. Warburg Pincus dropped its stake from 64.7% to 53.6%.

BA established WNS in Mumbai in 1996, and is now ranked as India’s third largest BPO company.