Dimension Data, and its subsidiary Merchants, a pioneer in the contact centre industry, announced the acquisition of 100% of Millennium 1 Solutions (Millennium), one of Canada’s fastest-growing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solution providers, from The Gores Group, for an undisclosed sum.
Millennium provides contact center, credit card, and back office and administration services to Canadian organizations primarily in the financial services, insurance, and retail sectors. Merchants, which is part of Dimension Data’s CX and Digital Workplace practice is one of South Africa’s leading customer management outsourcing solution providers that designs, builds, and operates contact centers across the globe.
A new ‘Merchants Group’ holding company will be formed incorporating Merchants and Millennium.
“Dimension Data’s strategic vision for the Merchants Group is to become a truly digital outsourcer with global capability. Merchants has strengths and capabilities in areas and verticals such as telco, retail, airlines, and service desk, and the acquisition will expand Merchants’ go-to-market offerings in North America,” explained Joe Manuele, Dimension Data’s Group Executive, CX and Digital Workplace practice. “In turn, Millennium’s capabilities and vertical expertise, particularly in credit card and financial services, complements Merchants’ offerings. This augurs well for our future growth and expansion plans.”
Tom Band, Millennium’s CEO said, “We’re thrilled to join Merchants and the wider Dimension Data and NTT Group. The acquisition accelerates our vision to expand into new geographies and verticals, and rapidly enhances our solution set for our current and future clients. Both Merchants and Millennium share a commitment to enabling our clients’ premium brands and a bias for execution. This is a great fit for our clients and our talented team of employees.”
Band will remain CEO of the Millennium business in Canada, and Merchants’ current Managing Director, George Todd, has been appointed CEO of the expanded Merchants Group. Dimension Data will appoint a new Managing Director for Merchants.
Todd said “The skills and expertise of the combined businesses position the Merchants Group, and accelerate our global expansion. In Millennium, we have a partner that shares our focus on delivering the highest quality outcomes for our clients. The acquisition of Millennium adds 2,131 permanent employees to the Merchants’ business which brings to 7,600, the total number of people across both companies. Together, our combined offerings and expanded geographic footprint will fast track growth in our current territories, and over time, globally.”
Sheila McGee-Smith, founder and principal analyst at McGee-Smith Analytics commented: “Dimension Data’s 2017 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report highlighted “an uncomfortable truth”, that businesses are not offering the ideal mix of digital interaction services to meet consumer demands. With the acquisition of Millennium 1 Solutions and the creation of a new, even more global Merchants Group, Dimension Data is creating a next-gen BPO partner that will be an important ingredient in helping businesses not only meet but exceed customer expectations for digital, personalized interactions.”