ASX-listed direct mail and marketing services company Salmat is selling its contact centre business to Sydney-based private equity firm Five V Capital for $53 million.
Salmat CEO Rebecca Lowde said the move is part of the company’s strategy to focus on its core catalogue distribution businesses - which also resulted the company offloading its SMS business MessageNet three months ago for $14.8 million.
“The sale is in line with Salmat's strategy to focus on innovating Salmat’s core capabilities for long-term sustainability and reflects the opportunity for consolidation in the Australian outsourced contact centre market,” Lowde told the ASX in a statement.
“The change in ownership will allow our contact centres to continue their long history of customer-centric service and benefit from further investment to capitalise on growth opportunities. Selling our contact centre business frees up capital and Group resources to invest in our Marketing Solutions and MicroSourcing businesses.”
Salmat's Marketing Solutions business offers clients a range of solutions to connect them with their customers and drive sales including online catalogue destination Lasoo, and catalogue distribution, search, email and eCommerce capabilities.
“With recent research conducted for Salmat indicating that search, brand websites, and letterbox/online catalogues rank in the top six channels consumers use to inform their purchase decisions, Salmat's Marketing Solutions business is well placed to deliver results for our clients and drive profitable growth and long term sustainability,” said Lowde. “With this divestment, we are now more focused on further enhancing our Marketing Solutions offer and enabling the continued success and growth of our MicroSourcing business."
Under the terms of the agreement - with Five V Capital in combination with the Probe Group - completion is scheduled for 30 April 2018, subject to conditions. Salmat will provide transitional services.
Adrian Mackenzie of Five V Capital said, “We have partnered with shareholders and management of BPO provider, Probe Group to form a new market-leading Australian BPO operator. The combined business, operating as the Probe Group, will employ over 3,000 staff servicing leading blue-chip corporate and government clients across Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The combined business will benefit from additional capital and resources to continue to grow and invest in delivering industry-leading services and solutions to its customers.”