Investment firm Blackstone on Monday announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in Bengaluru-headquartered IT services company Mphasis for up to $2.8 billion ( Rs 8,262 crore). A wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), UC Investments and other long-term investors will co-invest along with Blackstone, a joint statement said.
The transaction will trigger a mandatory open offer for the purchase of up to 26 percent additional shares of the company from the public shareholders and the acquiring entity has released a public announcement to the stock exchanges, agency reports said citing the statement.
Based on the open offer subscription, the blended purchase price will vary between Rs 1,452 to Rs 1,497 per share (12-16 per cent premium to 12-month average price and 3-6 percent discount to six-month average price) and the purchase consideration will vary between Rs 152 billion to Rs 210 billion (or, approximately $2.0 billion to $2.8 billion).
It currently has around 56 percent stake in Mphasis, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, Reuters said.
A different fund managed by Blackstone had acquired a controlling stake in Mphasis from Hewlett Packard Enterprise in September 2016 at Rs 430 per share, betting on a double-digit growth in India's information technology industry, according to a report in LiveMint.
"Mphasis is backed by strong secular tailwinds as global enterprises increasingly migrate to the cloud. The company is exceptionally well-positioned given a terrific management team, strong order backlog, long-term strategic customer base, deep domain expertise in financial services, and a world-class suite of cloud and digital offerings," said Amit Dixit, Co-Head of Asia Acquisitions and Head of India for Blackstone Private Equity.
"This investment enables us to continue creating value for the long term with continuity in the management team and the board, and provide additional resources to further accelerate the company's growth momentum," Dixit added.
Specialising in Cloud and digital solutions, Mphasis has deep domain expertise in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector and serves 35 of the top 50 US BFSI firms.
"We believe Blackstone's sustained strategic partnership will help the company accelerate its growth and scale new heights. Sovereign and pension funds co-investing is a testimony of long-term commitment and a vote of confidence of a marquee set of shareholders," said Nitin Rakesh, CEO and Executive Director of Mphasis.
The sale is expected to complete in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the statement added.
Shares of Mphasis rose as much as 5.5 percent to Rs 1,775 in early noon trade.
