Private equity firm Affirma Capital has bought a significant minority stake in Chennai-based Prodapt Solutions Pvt. Ltd for about $75 million, a source close to the development told Mint on condition of anonymity.
Affirma Capital, without disclosing the deal size, today said it had invested in Prodapt, a specialized IT services firm in an all-cash deal. Prodapt caters to telecom and digital service providers.
“A key part of our investing strategy for Affirma Capital in India is around export oriented themes. Prodapt fits in very nicely with this given that the company works with leading telcos and digital media companies across US and Europe,” said Udai Dhawan, co-founder and head of India at Affirma Capital.
The Jhaver Group-promoted Prodapt Solutions provides end-to-end IT/software architecture consulting, application development, systems integration, testing, maintenance and support solutions to its telecom and cable clients in North America, Europe, India, and Africa. The firm employs close to 2,000 people across its regional offices around the world.
“We also really like the fact that they have strong domain expertise and are focused on digital and next generation technologies which help their customers take advantage of the changing global telecom & medial landscape,” he added.
The transaction was advised by Mumbai-based financial services firm Avendus Capital.
The latest investment is in line with Affirma Capital’s mandate, which focuses on four themes — financial services, consumer, export-oriented themes and healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and invests between $25 million and 75 million in mid-sized firms that require growth capital.
With assets under management worth $3.6 billion and over $700 million set aside for deals in emerging markets, Affirma has more than 50 investments across six regions (China, India, South East Asia, South Korea, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East), and has a team of 52 investment professionals.
This marks Affirma Capital’s fourth investment in India in the past twelve months. Its past investments include nutraceuticals firm Tirupati Medicare, in which it invested about $50 million in August.
Affirma completed its management buyout from Standard Chartered Bank, led by its seven partners and backed by Intermediate Capital Group’s Strategic Equity funds, through the acquisition of the majority of the bank’s private equity portfolio worth $1 billion in August. The PE firm is now an independent entity owned and operated by the senior leadership team of Standard Chartered Private Equity.
Source: Mint