CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Manila's IPVG buys U.S. IT firm for $10.5 mln
(Corrects company description throughout to show Prolexic provides protection against service disruptions not Internet viruses)
MANILA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Philippine IT and gaming group IPVG (IP.PS) said on Tuesday it has acquired a Delaware-based IT firm for $10.5 million, the latest acquisition in its aggressive expansion strategy.
IPVG's purchase of Prolexic Technologies Inc, which provides protection against service disruptions, comes just a few weeks after the Philippine firm said it would buy a 70 percent stake in U.S.-based outsourcing group Interactive Teleservices Corp, or Influent.
Influent, which operates 10 call centres in the United States, Panama and the Philippines, has average annual revenues of about $45 million, compared to IPVG's estimated revenue of $23 million in 2007.
About half of IPVG's sales come from data services, 45 percent from gaming and 5 percent from outsourcing services, but it expects outsourcing revenues to accelerate from this year.
In December, IPVG made a $355 million all-cash offer for Nasdaq-listed PeopleSupport PSPT.O but the U.S.-headquartered outsourcing firm rebuffed the bid. IPVG has said it was still interested in buying the firm.
IPVG, with a market value of around $117 million, has operations in the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and India.
Funding for its acquisitions comes from AO Capital Partners, a boutique investment bank whose chairman is also chairman of IPVG. ($1 = 40.75 pesos) (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco, Editing by Jan Dahinten)
