Alorica Inc. has purchased some units of Omaha, Neb.-based West Corp. for $275 million.
The acquisition would more than double the Irvine-based call center operator’s companywide employee count, call volume and revenue.
Privately held Alorica currently has about 23,000 employees and revenue of about $600 million.
It is among the 25 largest privately held companies based in Orange County, according to Business Journal data.
The businesses acquired from publicly traded West Corp. have about $580 million in revenue and $48 million in gross earnings, according to a news report.
The sale is expected to close in March.
The deal makes Alorica the largest privately held call center operator for consumer sales in the North American market, according to Andy Lee, founder and chief executive of the company.
Alorica moved its headquarters in December 2012 from Chino to 20,000 square feet on the 11th floor of 5 Park Plaza.
The company cited a “vibrant corporate environment” and proximity to John Wayne Airport as reasons for the move.
It employs about 75 people here.
Alorica operates outsourced customer service call centers and handles back-office logistics and fulfillment, among other services.
It had about 40 call centers in the U.S. and overseas before the acquisition.
The company opened an office in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in April, with plans to hire about 200 workers there.
The deal with West Corp. expands Alorica domestically, as well in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Philippines, the company said. It brings 1,500 employees in Jamaica and Mexico—new locations for the company—and adds 5,400 to current operations in the Philippines and 18,400 in the U.S.
About 5,000, or 30%, of the U.S. employees are part of a “work-at-home” aspect of call center operations in which workers take service calls from their residences.
New Clients
Alorica said the deal also brings new clients in the healthcare, utilities and government sectors.
“We really wanted to be in those markets,” Lee said.
The company already has customers in industries ranging from communications and retail to travel, financial services and consumer products.
Go West
West Corp. was founded in 1986.
Recent news reports suggest it is moving away from human outsourcing and toward technology-based work. It has been buying “school alert” companies, including Los Gatos-based School Messenger, which contracts with schools to send automatic electronic messages to parents of students.
The news report said West Corp.’s companywide employee count would drop from 35,000 to 9,700 with the Alorica deal.
About two-thirds of West’s workers in Omaha are set to become Alorica employees, the report said.
