Premium front-end design and development
competencies open joint cross-selling opportunities across a more
highly diversified client base
Robust profitable growth and cash flow profile
of both companies supports continued rapid deleveraging
Today, TELUS Corporation (T-TSX; NYSE-TU) and TELUS
International (NYSE and TSX: TIXT), a leading digital customer
experience innovator that designs, builds and delivers
next-generation solutions, including AI and content moderation, for
global and disruptive brands, announced the completion of the
previously announced acquisition of WillowTree, having met all
closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Now rebranded as
WillowTree, a TELUS International Company, the premier,
full-service digital product provider adds key front-end design and
build competencies to TELUS International’s fulsome suite of
end-to-end capabilities across the full customer experience value
chain.
“Today marks another exciting step in TELUS International’s
journey, as we welcome the skilled and talented WillowTree team
into our TELUS family,” said Darren Entwistle, Chair of the Board
of TELUS International and President and CEO of TELUS. “Indeed, in
joining our team, WillowTree has further diversified TELUS
International’s expansive client base, adding new marquee customers
and amplifying cross-selling competencies, globally. Furthermore,
our combined teams have a tremendous opportunity to accelerate
TELUS’ digital transformation and support key product development
across our business, most notably, within health and agriculture
and consumer goods. Leveraging the collective technological and
human innovation of our TELUS International and WillowTree teams,
in combination with our social purpose-driven, client-centric
culture and brand, we will further elevate the experiences of our
customers around the world.”
“It is with great pleasure that we kick off the New Year by
welcoming WillowTree’s team members from around the globe to TELUS
International as we join together to create unique, innovative and
engaging digital experiences for some of the world’s largest and
best-known brands,” said Jeff Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS
International. “This latest acquisition, our tenth since 2005,
represents the next chapter in our team’s ongoing execution of our
successful growth strategy. With a concerted focus on building upon
our existing strengths, adding new high-value capabilities, further
diversifying our client base and broadening our geographic
footprint, our company continues to evolve in order to meet our
clients’ increasingly complex needs. Our consistent and sustained
approach over more than 17 years has enabled us to push the
boundary of customer experience excellence, drive disruptive shifts
in digital CX innovation and lead all aspects of our clients’
digital transformations.”
TELUS International has now grown to encompass a diverse,
multilingual team of more than 70,000 team members, a global AI
Community of more than one million trained annotators and 69
delivery centers and digital design studios located in 30 countries
across North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. The
addition of WillowTree’s more than 50 new marquee brands has
further diversified TELUS International’s client base and it now
supports more than 650 clients across key industry verticals,
including tech and games, communications and media, eCommerce and
fintech, banking, financial services and insurance, consumer goods,
healthcare and life sciences, and travel and hospitality.
“Our company’s thoughtful approach to maximizing our established
market presence post-acquisition includes carefully preserving
WillowTree’s strong brand equity while clearly communicating to the
market our combined entity’s larger scale and broader suite of
complementary capacities that are now enabled for existing and
prospective clients,'' continued Jeff. “There are abundant and
exciting cross-selling opportunities across both companies’ client
rosters that include many Fortune 500 firms, as well as within our
parent company, TELUS, and its TELUS Health and TELUS Agriculture
& Consumer Goods divisions that have already been
identified.”
“This is an exciting milestone in WillowTree’s growth journey
since its inception in 2008, and we could not be more excited to
join together with TELUS International as one team with a shared
passion for delivering engaging digital customer experiences and a
like-minded culture that prioritizes the care, engagement and
development of our team members,” said Tobias Dengel, President of
WillowTree, a TELUS International Company. “As we combine our
distinct yet complementary capabilities, the result is a truly
unique omnichannel value proposition that we are able to provide
our clients, ranging from digital strategy, design and development
to content moderation, data annotation and complete customer
experience management.”
WillowTree is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia with 13
global studios across the United States, Canada, Brazil, Portugal,
Spain, Poland and Romania. The company’s more than 1,000 digital
strategists, designers, engineers and project managers have shipped
over 700 native mobile applications, websites and other digital
products for its clients that include FOX, CBC, PepsiCo,
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), Synchrony, Manulife and Marriott,
among many others. In 2021, WillowTree demonstrated strong
financial growth and performance, with revenue of approximately
US$140 million and healthy profitability. Capital expenditures as a
per cent of revenue for WillowTree are in the low single digits,
driving meaningful free cash flow conversion that will support
rapid deleveraging.
Barclays and Rothschild & Co served as financial advisors,
Shearman & Sterling LLP served as legal counsel, and Scotiabank
provided committed financing to TELUS International for this
transaction.
Forward-looking statements
This news release contains statements about expected future
events, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the
expected benefits and synergies of the transaction, the impact of
the transaction on TELUS Corporation’s, TELUS International’s and
WillowTree’s businesses, the impact on financial results of TELUS
Corporation, TELUS International and WillowTree and TELUS
International’s expectations regarding rapid deleveraging and
integration plans. By their nature, forward-looking statements
require TELUS Corporation and TELUS International to make
assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that the expected benefits
of the transaction will be realized within a targeted time frame or
at all, including that the financial results of TELUS Corporation,
TELUS International and WillowTree will be achieved or that rapid
deleveraging will be possible, that the expected benefits and
synergies of the transaction will be realized or that the
integration of the businesses will be successful. There is a
significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove
to be accurate as a result of risks, some of which are beyond the
control of TELUS Corporation and TELUS International, that include,
but are not limited to: risks related to the ability to achieve
contemplated synergies and benefits and effectively integrate
WillowTree within expected timeframes or at all and the possibility
that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or
costly than expected, failure of WillowTree to maintain levels of
capital expenditures as a per cent of revenue and free cash flow
that are in line with its historical results and resulting
inability to delever the business rapidly or at all, the diversion
of attention of management of TELUS International and WillowTree to
integration-related issues, risks related to investor perceptions
of the transaction parties and their respective businesses,
operations, financial condition and industry, and risks related to
the potential impact of general economic, political and market
factors on the companies or the proposed transaction. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe
our expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly,
are subject to change after such date. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of
factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly,
this news release is subject to the disclaimer and qualified by the
assumptions, qualifications and risk factors referred to in TELUS
Corporation’s and TELUS International’s 2022 third quarter
Management’s discussion and analysis and 2021 annual report, and in
other TELUS Corporation and TELUS International public disclosure
documents and filings with securities commissions in Canada (on
SEDAR at sedar.com) and in the United States (on EDGAR at sec.gov)
as well as the risks applicable to WillowTree’s business, some of
which may not have been anticipated by TELUS Corporation and TELUS
International. Except as required by law, TELUS Corporation and
TELUS International disclaim any intention or obligation to update
or revise forward-looking statements.
About TELUS International
TELUS International (NYSE & TSX: TIXT) designs, builds and
delivers next-generation digital solutions to enhance the customer
experience (CX) for global and disruptive brands. The company’s
services support the full lifecycle of its clients’ digital
transformation journeys, enabling them to more quickly embrace
next-generation digital technologies to deliver better business
outcomes. TELUS International’s integrated solutions span digital
strategy, innovation, consulting and design, IT lifecycle including
managed solutions, intelligent automation and end-to-end AI data
solutions including computer vision capabilities, as well as
omnichannel CX and trust and safety solutions including content
moderation. Fueling all stages of company growth, TELUS
International partners with brands across high-growth industry
verticals, including tech and games, communications and media,
eCommerce and fintech, banking, financial services and insurance,
healthcare, and travel and hospitality.
TELUS International’s unique caring culture promotes diversity
and inclusivity through its policies, team member resource groups
and workshops, and equal employment opportunity hiring practices
across the regions where it operates. Since 2007, the company has
positively impacted the lives of more than one million citizens
around the world, building stronger communities and helping those
in need through large-scale volunteer events and charitable giving.
Five TELUS International Community Boards have provided $4.9
million in funding to grassroots charitable organizations since
2011. Learn more at: telusinternational.com.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading
communications technology company with $17 billion in annual
revenue and 17 million customer connections spanning wireless,
data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security.
Our social purpose is to leverage our global-leading technology and
compassion to drive social change and enable remarkable human
outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers
first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct
leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. The numerous,
sustained accolades TELUS has earned over the years from
independent, industry-leading network insight firms showcase the
strength and speed of TELUS’ global-leading networks, reinforcing
our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior
technology that connects us to the people, resources and
information that make our lives better.
Operating in 30 countries around the world, TELUS International
(TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience
innovator that designs, builds, and delivers next-generation
solutions, including AI and content moderation, for global and
disruptive brands across high-growth industry verticals, including
tech and games, communications and media and eCommerce and
fintech.
TELUS Health is a global healthcare company, which provides
employee and family preventative healthcare and wellness solutions.
Our TELUS team, along with our 100,000 health professionals, are
leveraging the combination of TELUS’ strong digital and data
analytics capabilities with our unsurpassed client service to
dramatically improve remedial, preventative and mental health
outcomes for over 50 million people, and growing, around the world.
As the largest provider of digital solutions and digital insights
of its kind, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods enables
efficient and sustainable production from seed to store, helping
improve the safety and quality of food and other goods in a way
that is traceable to end consumers.
Driven by our determination and vision to connect all citizens
for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give
where we live has inspired TELUS, our team members and retirees to
contribute more than $900 million, in cash, in-kind contributions,
time and programs, and 1.8 million days of service since 2000. This
unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made
TELUS the most giving company in the world. Together, let’s make
the future friendly.
For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow
us @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230104005128/en/
For more information:
TELUS International Investor Relations Jason Mayr (604)
695-3455 ir@telusinternational.com
TELUS International Media Relations Ali Wilson (604)
328-7093 Ali.Wilson@telusinternational.com
TELUS Corporation Investor Relations Robert Mitchell
(647) 837-1606 ir@telus.com
TELUS Corporation Media Relations Steve Beisswanger (514)
865-2787 Steve.Beisswanger@telus.com
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