Business Today has an article on how the Essar Group's outsourcing arm, Aegis, has acquired its way into the top league of Indian BPOs. The ITES onslaught can be traced back to 2003, when the Ruias made their first acquisition, of Aegis Communication Group in the US for $28 million. Another 12 followed in the years to come. Aegis was struggling with some $22 million in losses. The takeover trail hasn’t ended: Last fortnight, the Ruias picked up CCN Group of South Africa for $30 million. Today, Aegis BPO is valued at a billion dollars, with some 35,000 employees and 32 global locations. It is also profitable, say company officials. “Our ambition is to grow as big as we can in the services space… we are a value investor,” says Ruia. ...The core of Essar’s ITES portfolio for some time to come will be BPO, which had revenues of half a billion dollars last year, and which the company claims is the fastest-growing BPO in the world (at a rate of 50 per cent as against the Indian BPO indu...