Australia's Five V makes another BPO bolt-on
Australia’s Five V Capital has acquired Philippines business process outsourcing (BPO) player Beepo as a portfolio company bolt-on. It is the GP’s second such transaction this month.
Melbourne-based BPO provider Probe Group, which Five V bought in 2018 for $41 million, has acquired Australia-based and Philippines-focused counterpart Beepo for an undisclosed sum. It comes three weeks after Probe confirmed its acquisition of MicroSourcing, a similar Philippines-based business for A$100 million ($67 million).
Founded in 2014, Beepo helps corporate clients ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to large-cap companies with outsourcing non-core capabilities and transactional business processes. This includes workforce support across financial services, technology, real estate, and business services. SME services include a focus on affordable offshore staffing.
Beepo staff includes a minimal management team in Australia and a workforce of more than 400 in the Philippines. According to a statement, the Philippines presence includes more than 300 "billable seats" for supporting client workforce needs. This compares to about 4,000 seats for MicroSourcing. Prior to the Beepo and MicroSourcing transactions, Probe had an approximately 5,000-seat capacity across Australasia and the Philippines.
The Philippines' BPO market is seen as prospective due to a mainly young and educated workforce, the widespread use of English, and a relatively low cost of living. These advantages will be substantially supported by the introduction of artificial intelligence, especially in the IT space. The local IT BPO market is set to grow by 11.5% a year through 2023, when it will reach PHP2.5 trillion ($49 billion) in revenue, according to Ken Research.
Five V was established in 2013 by Adrian Mackenzie, formerly of CVC Capital Partners. The firm claims to have raised A$350 million for its third fund, bringing total assets under management to more than A$500 million. Other recent activity in the BPO space includes the carve-out of an Australasia and Philippines-focused call center unit from marketing services provider Salmat for $53 million. Salmat was also the seller of MicroSourcing and Probe.
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