Apax sells 48% stake in GlobalLogic to CPPIB

The size of the transaction was not disclosed. Apax bought a majority stake in the US-headquartered business just over three years ago for $420 million, taking out existing investors WestBridge Capital, New Atlantic Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital. The private equity firm will retain a 48% interest in the company.

GlobalLogic helps companies develop digital products and services that enable better customer engagement, ranging from apps and digital marketplaces to video delivery infrastructure and digital media products. It works across the telecom, automotive, healthcare, technology and media and entertainment sectors, with clients including Fox, Panasonic, Adobe, Samsung and Oracle.

The company employs 11,000 people globally and has engineering centers in eight countries. However, much of its operations are in India, with bases in Noida, Bangalore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. Shashank Samant, CEO of GlobalLogic, said the company had seen compound annual revenue growth of more than 20% over the past three years, outperforming the broader product engineering services market.

"This is a compelling opportunity for CPPIB to back a highly successful management team in what is a rapidly growing and evolving software engineering services sector. GlobalLogic's market-leading position, exceptional track record and deep customer relationships will enable it to continue capitalizing on technology megatrends," said Ryan Selwood, managing director and head of direct private equity at CPPIB, in a statement.

Apax's previous exposure to India IT outsourcing included supporting iGate in its $1.22 billion acquisition of Patni Computer Systems in 2011, receiving $80 million in cash plus an equity stake in the business. This was exited in 2015 when Capgemini bought iGate for $4 billion, with Apax getting $1.12 billion for its 28.9% stake. More recently, the PE firm purchased a minority stake in Zensar Technologies.

CPPIB had C$279.1 billion ($212 billion) in assets as of March 2016, of which C$50.4 billion was in private equity. While primary fund commitments, secondaries and co-investments fall under the investment partnerships division, the pension fund has a separate allocation - worth C$56.3 billion - for private investments. This includes direct private equity, for which the portfolio was valued at C$16.6 billion across 30 positions.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• North America
• Technology
• Trade sale
• Expansion
• India
• USA
• CPPIB
• Apax Partners