Belgian Investment Fund Acquires Webhelp, Eyes African Customer Service Expansion

Webhelp is now in the portfolio of the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, a few months after having negotiated the buyout of the American investment fund KKR. Through this contract, the GBL investment fund takes control of the entire company. However, the founders of this global player in customer relations that is Webhelp, Frédéric Jousset and Olivier Duha, remain minority shareholders.

GBL inherits a thriving company. With more than 240% revenue growth between 2015 and 2019, Webhelp has also doubled in size in four years. Thanks to its entry into the capital of the American investment fund KKR in 2015, this global player in customer relations aims to benefit from the longer-term commitment (between seven and ten years) of a family portfolio company indirectly and equally controlled by the heirs of the Belgian billionaire Albert Frère, and the Canadian Paul Desmarais. Thus, its turnover is now 1.3 billion euros.

After having long proven itself in Morocco, the group with 55,000 employees in 35 countries, including about 18,000 in Africa, is committed to establishing itself in other African countries by the end of 2019. But first, next October, it will extend its tentacles to Marrakech. Other territories are also planned to be explored. These are Benin, Senegal, Cameroon and Togo, not to mention East Africa, for its English-speaking clients.

By 2025, Webhelp intends to double its turnover, estimated at more than 1.5 billion euros.