Blackstone closes in on Securitrans India
Blackstone is close to acquiring Securitrans India, the cash management arm of security services provider APS group, for around INR150 crore ($33.6 million), the Economic Times reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The private equity firm declined to comment.
Delhi-based Securitrans provides security services to commercial banks that wish to transport cash and other valuables. Its customers include Citibank, Standard Chartered, American Express, Deutsche Bank, HDFC, Canara and ICICI.
The purported Blackstone deal - which is said to be pending regulatory approval - comes shortly after Prosegur, the world's second-largest private security company by market capitalization, and Indian firm Security and Intelligence Services (SIS). Rituraj Sinha, group chief operating officer at SIS, believes that consolidation in the cash management segment is inevitable given the high level of capital expenditure required.
India's security services sector as a whole has seen significant M&A and investment activity in the last few years. On the private equity front, ICICI Venture Funds invested $26.74 million in Topsgrup while Firepro Systems received a $33 million injection from Standard Chartered Private Equity.
Blackstone recently realized a substantial gain on its investment in Indian BPO company Intelenet Global Services, selling its 66.25% stake in the company to UK firm Serco for $634.2 million.
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