Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-led CESC has agreed to acquire 49.5 per cent stake in business process outsourcing (BPO) firm Firstsource Solutions.

CESC has offered to buy 34.5 per cent stake in Firstsource through a preferential allotment for Rs 12.10 per share, plus a further 15 per cent stake for Rs 12.2 per share from existing investor ICICI.

The Rs 400-crore-deal will be made through CESC's wholly-owned subsidiary. The deal values the India's fifth-largest outsourcing firm at about Rs 650 crore.

Chairman Sanjiv Goenka, of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, said, "We have been looking at entering the BPO space for a while. Firstsource presents a very good opportunity in high-growth BPO verticals and has a strong management team."

The money raised from fresh issue of shares will allow Firstsource to pay its bondholders around $237 million worth of foreign currency convertible bonds that are coming up for deliverance in December this year.

In the year ended March this year, Firstsource generated revenues and net profit of Rs 2,255 crore and Rs 62 crore respectively. The BPO firm generates a majority of its revenues from telecom, healthcare and media clients in the United States.

On Thursday, Stock in Firstsource gained 7.63 per cent to close at Rs 14.24 a share on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).