Intelenet, controlled by the US private equity group Blackstone, has announced today that it has acquired the back office operations of the UK transport company FirstGroup.

The Indian BPO firm acquired the service arm, FirstInfo, for £45m. Intelenet will now be responsible for customer management, ticket issuing and back-office processing across rail franchises including FirstCapitalConnect, First ScotRail and First Great Western.

The deal, which was formally concluded on the 10th January 2010, sees Intelenet take over FirstInfo’s two UK contact centres in Fort William and Plymouth. It also supports the company’s expansion in the UK and the aim to increase FirstInfo’s UK employees from 300 up to 2,000 in two years.

Belen Martinez, First’s rail division business development director, commented: “It will be business as usual and the new contract with Intelenet will enable First to improve services to customers.

“Intelenet specialises in the delivery of contact centre services and there will be investments in new technology and processes at the centres. We will work closely with Intelenet over the coming months to improve service.”