The French group Webhelp acquires a company from Cluj

Transaction: The French group Webhelp, one of the largest outsourcing service providers, acquires a company from Cluj. 

Webhelp, one of the largest global outsourcing service providers, has acquired the Cluj-Napoca-based software application provider PitechPlus, owned until now by Bogdan Herea-Buzatu, a business last year worth €9 million. The group has been owned since 2016 by its management team and US investment fund KKR. 

Currently, Webhelp is in the final stage of the transaction with GBL (Groupe Bruxelles Lambert), the new shareholder that will replace KKR. Following a successful 2018 in which the company increased its local revenue by €2 million, Webhelp Romania announced at the beginning of the year that it would expand its operations this year and will also focus on the acquisition of a company that will complement the range of services currently provided.  

"We aim to support our customers with a 360 offering that can meet the needs of all departments, from marketing and finance to customer service and more." said Raluca Leonte, CEO Webhelp Romania. PitechPlus will maintain its current management structure, with Bogdan Herea, the founder, remaining at the helm of the company. 

Currently, Webhelp Romania has approximately 2,000 employees and is present in four cities (Bucharest, Ploiesti, Galati, and Iasi). The local subsidiary's client portfolio includes companies such as Samsung, Sephora, Bouygues Telecom, Orange, Vodafone, NN, and Eurostar. In the middle of last year, Webhelp Romania signed an agreement for the expansion of the leased area in Moldova Center office building in Iasi, reaching a total area of 2,600 square meters. Additionally, the company consolidated its operations in Bucharest, at Premium Plaza, reaching a total leased area of approximately 5,000 square meters. Eighteen years after its foundation, the French group Webhelp has become one of the world's top 10 BPO service providers, with 140 operations centers in 35 countries and over 50,000 employees. Last year, the company opened 11 new operations centers and merged with or acquired 6 new companies (IQ-to-Link, Runway, OEE, Technofix, Meddomed & Meded, Sellbytel) 

Webhelp Group provides dedicated customer relationship services globally to over 600 companies, leaders in various industries such as telecom, retail, travel, fashion, automotive, logistics, and e-commerce. Some of their clients include Amazon, Easy Jet, Bouygues Telecom, Vodafone, and Marc Jacobs. Last year, the group achieved a turnover of €1.4 billion, employing around 50,000 people in more than 140 operating centers in 36 countries. The group’s objective is to become a global leader in the industry.  The Cluj-Napoca-based software application provider PitechPlus ended last year with a revenue of €9 million, a 20% increase compared to 2017, with a net profit of 6.1 million lei. They announced its expansion into Scandinavian countries following significant growth in its operations in the United Kingdom. 

PitechPlus aims to achieve a turnover of 11 million euros this year while maintaining the same profit rate as in 2018. The company focused its activity in 2018 on 5 main directions: online sales, solutions for the hospitality industry, digital solutions for the financial and insurance sectors, and solutions for the automotive and urban mobility and entertainment segments. In 2019, PitechPlus plans to add two new types of services to its portfolio: business transformation and automation and application management. PitechPlus currently has a team of approximately 270 employees in its development centers in Cluj-Napoca and Târgu-Mureș from where they oversee all their international operations. 

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