Baring-owned Hexaware announces $182m US bolt-on
Hexaware Technologies, an Indian IT services company majority-owned by Baring Private Equity Asia, has acquired US-based digital consultancy firm Mobiquity for a total consideration of $182 million.
The transaction is being carried out in two tranches, according to a regulatory filing, with an upfront payout of $131 million and deferred consideration of up to $51 million, contingent on earnouts. No changes to the Mobiquity brand, leadership, or corporate structure are planned, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 1990, Hexaware provides IT, business process outsourcing (BPO), and consulting services to clients around the world in a range of industries. The company has over 16,000 employees and more than 30 offices worldwide. For the year ended March 2018, it reported revenue of INR46.5 billion ($666 million), up from INR39.4 billion the year before. Over the same period, net profit grew from INR5 billion to INR5.8 billion.
Hexaware's primary focus is on automation, cloud computing, and customer experience management. The acquisition of Mobiquity, a leading consulting partner with Amazon Web Services and developer of user interfaces for next-generation devices such as smart speakers and digital assistants, is expected to strengthen Hexaware's offerings in the latter two areas.
"We are seeing strong demand for these capabilities and, with this acquisition, we will be able to further accelerate our contributions to our customers' business growth," said R. Srikrishna, CEO of Hexaware, in a separate statement. "Both Hexaware and Mobiquity have created a very strong impact for their clients and have a mutually complementing position. Our combined capabilities will enhance our market positioning and opportunity to make an impact for our clients."
Baring first invested in Hexaware in 2013, acquiring a 42% stake from the founders and General Atlantic for around INR16.9 billion. It later bought an additional 20% for INR8.2 billion through an open offer. The firm has sought to reposition the business, at that time primarily a BPO player, as a digital analytics provider that also offers remote network management services.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.