Citigroup to pay $126 mn for E-Serve International

Close on the heels of IBM’s decision to buy Daksh Eservices, another US conglomerate, Citigroup, is planning to pay $126 million to acquire Mumbai-based E-serve International, a media report said today.

Citigroup said it would pay $126 million for the 55 percent stakes of E-Serve International. Citigroup has remained the sole customer of the Mumbai-based company since its was founded in 1992.

Though there was an uproar in the US over outsourcing of jobs during the election year, ‘‘corporate America doesn’t just want to outsource to Indian service firms but it wants to own them,’’ the Washington Post reported.

IBM had recently announced its decision to pay $150 million for Daksh Eservices, India’s third-largest call centre and back-office service provider.