DQ estimates

There was no letdown in momentum of the acquisition spree that ICICI OneSource got into two years back. This year in fact it reached a frenzy-the company took a 51% stake in Chicago-based Pipal Research, a provider of business research, analytics and information services; this was followed by the total acquisition of Amherst, New York-based consumer collections agency Accounts Solution Group; and it was rounded off with 100% acquisition of Rev IT Systems, a Chennai-based healthcare outsourcer. The Rev IT acquisition also brought into OneSource's kitty the former's subsidiary, Michigan-based Sherpa Business Solutions. That so many acquisitions were possible in one year owed much to the VC funding of around $35 mn it received from Singapore-based Temasek Holdings, along with Westbridge Capital.

Surely, the inorganic growth also led to the expansion in offerings-business analytics, collections, healthcare and print and publishing services were some of the new verticals added to the OneSource portfolios. On the operations side, the company tried a novel strategy to control attrition-it allowed employees who have worked for at least one year to apply for positions in its group companies as an incentive for employee retention.