Samara acquires India's Sanjay Maintenance
Samara Capital Partners has acquired Indian facilities management company Sanjay Maintenance Services (SMS) for about $20 million.
The deal took the form of a management buy-in, Samara Managing Director Paurush Roy told AVCJ, with the GP supporting a team headed by former ISS India CEO Jolly Kochery to take over the company from the founding Khanvilkar family.
“This is a team that has run the entire gamut of facility management, which includes security, cash management, pest care, and so on. And on account of that experience they are pretty clear as to what they would like to pursue,” said Roy. “We like their clarity of thought, the credibility that they bring to the table, and the fact that they have had a very successful track record of integrating every acquisition they did while they were at ISS.”
The GP plans to commit up to $30 million to SMS on top of the initial investment to help build a platform focused on comprehensive facilities management services.
Samara will use bolt-on acquisitions to strengthen the company in areas where it is less experienced, such as MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). The company is also looking to expand from its current base in western India, with a particular focus on growing in the southern and northern regions.
SMS was founded in 1968 and today is one of India’s largest facilities management companies dedicated to the private sector, with around 16,000 employees. It primarily serves companies in business, financial services and insurance; IT and IT-enabled services; manufacturing; retail; and office space.
Other management buy-ins supported by Samara include the takeover last year of the Indian division of South African drug maker Adcock Ingram Holdings. Similarly, Samara’s platform-building strategy has precedent in the creation of Sapphire Foods in 2015 to manage the Yum Restaurants brand in India. Samara recruited Sanjay Purohit, managing director for India at Levi Strauss, to run Sapphire last year.
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