Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd has sold its 50 per cent stake in Intelenet Global Services Ltd, a business process outsourcing company, to Barclays Bank Plc for Rs 164 crore (Rs 1.64 billion).

The British bank was looking for an opportunity to acquire an established business platform with some immediate capacity and access to experienced staff, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh said in a release in Mumbai on Monday.

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The transaction involves a partial divestment of HDFC's holding in the BPO company.

The opportunity arose and they (Barclays) decided it was an attractive alternative to expanding their existing outsourcing operations.

HDFC was also seeking a partner with similar objectives, Parekh said.

On July 21, HDFC had acquired Tata Consultancy Services' 50 per cent stake in their equal joint venture entity Intelenet for Rs 161 crore (Rs 1.61 billion).

Intelenet offers call centre services, back office operations and e-mail management. The company also provides financial accounting and technical helpdesk services to its clients.

The company has three centres in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Chennai with over 4,300 employees and 19 clients, the release said.

According to the latest data, the BPO company has revenues of Rs 117 crore (Rs 1.17 billion) with net profit of Rs 10.8 crore (Rs 108 million).