Foundever Group given CCC rating by S&P Global Ratings
The company expected to take over virtual care in New Brunswick is having financial difficulties.
In February, the Government of New Brunswick announced it would let its online medical services contract with eVisitNB expire and continue the service with a new company, Foundever Group.
In December 2025, S&P Global Ratings, a U.S. credit rating agency, downgraded Foundever Group to a CCC rating from a previous B- rating.
https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3496757
S&P defines a company with a CCC rating as “currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.”
Foundever Group (formerly Sitel Group) is touted as the third-largest provider of outsourced CX (customer experience) services worldwide. In 2024, it employed approximately 170,000 people and generated revenue $3.6 billion in revenue, down from $4 billion in 2023. Foundever Group currently owns the company that operates Tele-Care 811 in New Brunswick.
Greg MacPherson is a senior financial advisor with Manulife Wealth Inc. in Woodstock. He said a CCC rating is “worrisome.”
“It is one of the lowest possible ratings before default, and their debt is considered in financial terms as ‘junk,” said MacPherson. “While it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t survive, in S&P’s own words, ‘The negative outlook reflects our view that liquidity will deteriorate over the coming quarters and a debt exchange or restructuring that we view as tantamount to a default is likely within the next 12 months.’ ”
He says the rating doesn’t mean the company can’t survive, but suggests it’s vulnerable.
“If I held debt with this organization or was in business with them, I would personally be concerned.”
Foundever Group, with global headquarters in Luxembourg and corporate offices in Miami, Florida, was supposed to take over services from eVisitNB on April 1, following a Request for Proposals (RFP) that was issued by the Department of Health (DOH) last October. On Tuesday, March 24, eVisit CEO Dr. Hanif Chatur confirmed his company’s contract was being extended to June 30.
The River Valley Sun requested an interview with New Brunswick Minister of Health Dr. John Dornan to discuss the service transition. In a department statement, Dr. Dornan said very little about the logistics around changing providers.
“We know the important role virtual care plays, and we’re committed to ensuring it’s available for New Brunswickers when they need it,” he wrote. “There have been questions about the future of virtual care and its status after March 31. I can confirm that eVisitNB’s contract has been extended 90 days, and they will provide virtual care as we transition to a new vendor in June, with the goal of a full transition following the extension period.”
He concluded by saying he would keep New Brunswickers informed as the transition date approached. The minister did not name the company that will be taking over on July 1.
Woodstock-Hartland MP and Conservative Health Critic Bill Hogan called Foundever Group’s financial status “alarming and concerning,” and called on Premier Susan Holt to “do the right thing.”
“This was a service that was born in New Brunswick, by New Brunswickers, and provided a quality service to New Brunswickers. If you have issues with it, work with the company to resolve them, and then give the contract back to eVisit,” he said when reached by the River Valley Sun.
MacPherson echoed those comments.
“I’m personally saddened that the province is not sticking with the current proven provider (Evisit),” he wrote in an email. “The premier was quoted this past year saying, “buy local, and get to work seizing the opportunities we have across New Brunswick and our country.” We are a smaller, less wealthy province, and in my opinion, we shouldn’t be throwing our homegrown eVisit success story in the garbage and handing the contract to a foreign firm, likely to face transition and quality issues. I feel let down.”
Since 2011, Foundever Group has been privately owned by the Mulliez family through the Creadev investment fund.
In 2023, the French national newspaper La Monde published an investigation into two companies belonging to the Mulliez family (Auchan and Leroy Merlin) that were supporting Russia’s army by supplying its troops stationed along the Ukrainian front line.
eVisitNB was awarded the province’s first virtual care contract in 2022 – without an RFP. eVisitNB was created at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by Woodstock ER Dr. Hanif Chatur and Stanley-area family physician Jonathan Clayton.
Last year, the company was informed that the government would issue an RFP for the service. The province analyzed 11 bids. eVisitNB was the only New Brunswick-owned company involved in the process, but did not win the contract.
