Bain, GIC, Advent buy minority stake in Quest Global
Bain Capital, GIC, and Advent International have bought a minority stake in Indian engineering services outsourcing firm Quest Global for $350 million, providing an exit for Warburg Pincus.
The stake includes Warburg Pincus' entire holding, which the GP bought for $75 million in 2010, along with that of several other investors. No new shares were issued. Media reports have put the post-deal valuation of the company at about $1 billion.
Quest expects to source new clients from the global portfolios of its new investors, and also to benefit from their strategic insights and experience in its sectors of operation.
Founded in 1997, Quest supports the product development and engineering needs of global high-tech companies. It offers mechanical, electrical, electronics, software, manufacturing and supply chain solutions to clients including Rolls-Royce, General Electric, BMW and Airbus. With offices in nine countries, the company employs more than 7,800 people worldwide.
"Quest has demonstrated the ability to scale accounts in a fragmented industry by becoming the core engineering partner to most of the top global firms in its target industries. We are excited to back Ajit Prabhu and the executive team at Quest and look forward to working with them on the journey ahead," said Pawan Singh, managing director at Bain Capital, in a statement.
India's IT and IT-enabled services sector has drawn interest from foreign investors in recent years as it has grown from chiefly business process outsourcing services to providers of key infrastructure for the growing big data and cloud computing markets. Bain has been active in the field for several years, having paid $1 billion for a 30% stake in pioneering BPO firm Genpact in 2012.
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