Icra Ltd is close to acquiring 3-4 mid-sized companies engaged in the analytical business in the United States and other developed economies to build up critical mass for its fledgling business process outsourcing division.

Icra's has flagged off its outsourcing business by getting its technical collaborator and largest shareholder Moody's Investors Service Ltd to outsource analytical work to Icra.

The acquisitions would aim for business outside the Moody's framework and will be owned by Icra directly without any involvement of Moody's except as a shareholder of Icra.

The Icra management team will be visiting the USA in the next few days to tie-up acquisitions in the BPO space. "Icra is looking more at entities that could provide marketing and client servicing strengths rather than execution skills for BPO contracts," Icra managing director P K Choudhury said. The acquired companies would get clients, provide onsite services and support and provide projects for development at Indian development centres.

Icra was eyeing research and analytical outsourcing work for multinational companies particularly investment bankers. It would aim for the higher end of the business and use cost as one of its selling points, the managing director said.

Initial response from a couple of major American multinationals had been very encouraging. Choudhury indicated the first such deal could some through in a few days.

Icra would begin recruitments soon for its BPO business and the division would be located at Kolkata, Choudhury said. Equity research, sector research and economic research would form its basic basket of services.

Icra had recently picked up 33 per cent share in Online India Capital.com Ltd and renamed it Icra Online Ltd, with SUDBI's venture capital fund and some private investors holding the balance equity state. It was developing software for the financial sector and analytical tools and content for the mutual fund industry.

Icra Online would supplement the BPO activities of Icra in the field of research and analysis but the online company would be free to pursue fresh business in sectors like healthcare, software development, mutual funds and insurance, Choudhury indicated.