Quess Corp shares zoom 16% on demerger plans

Shares of Quess Corp surged as much as 15.7% to hit a 52-week high of ₹580 apiece on the BSE after the company unveiled its plans to demerge its core business into three independent entities to unlock shareholder value.

As per the regulatory filing, Quess Corp, which is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, will demerge into Quess Corp Ltd, Digitide Solutions Ltd, and Bluspring Enterprises Ltd. The demerger is expected to be completed in the next 12-15 months following regulatory approvals.

"Upon effectiveness of the scheme, all shareholders will receive one additional share for each of the new companies, for every share held in Quess Corp Ltd," says the Bengaluru-headquartered company.

At 11:44 am, the share price of Quess Corp was trading 11.20% higher at ₹557.00. This was in line with the broader BSE Sensex, which was trading 294.27 points or 0.34% higher at 72,865.33. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹8,257.62 crore with more than 1.55 lakh shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 0.14 lakh shares.

Quess Corp's shares hit a 52-week low of ₹337.45 on March 28 last year.  In the past one month, six months and one year, the counter has given 12.96%, 13.20% and 46.43% in returns, respectively. In the year-to-date period, the counter has given 6.65% in returns.

The company has given a simplified corporate structure, enhanced strategic clarity, and optimal capital allocation as the rationale behind the demerger.

"This is a landmark moment for Quess and is a transformational decision to create three separate entities. It helps the management to focus, develop capital allocation plans relevant to each business, and create value for our shareholders. The decentralized structure at Quess has enabled a pathway for the three demerged entities to continue a culture of entrepreneurship, an employee-friendly workplace with customer centricity being at the core of our purpose," says Ajit Isaac, chairman, Quess Corp Ltd.

Following the demerger, Digitide Solutions Ltd, will provide services such as BPM (business process management) solutions, insurtech and HRO business. Bluspring Enterprises Ltd will provide services such as facility management and security services, telecom infrastructure maintenance and industrial services.

Established in 2007, Quess Corp provides a host of technology-enabled staffing and managed outsourcing across processes such as sales and marketing, customer care, after-sales service, back office operations, manufacturing, facilities and security management, HR & F&A operations, IT and mobility services, amongst others. The Bengaluru-headquartered company currently employs more than 5 lakh employees and serves more than 3,000 clients across India, North America, APAC, and the Middle East.