Services giant Serco has announced its intention to acquire Intelenet, an Indian business process outsourcing provider, for £385 million.

Serco is best known for providing services to the UK public sector, but this acquisition reflects its ambition to serve private sector clients in global markets.

"The acquisition of Intelenet supports our ambitions as a leading global service company," said CEO Chris Hyman in a statement. "The international BPO market is growing quickly as companies seek out new ways to improve their service and reduce costs."

Earlier this month, as it announced its most recent financial results, the company denied that UK government spending cuts endangered its business. "Although we are facing short-term headwinds resulting from the government’s austerity measures, we expect that this will change based on the government’s intention for greater involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in the delivery of public services."

In 2008, Serco acquired US IT services provider SI International for $432 million. It now derives 40% of its £4.3 billion revenues from outside the UK.