Business Standard 29 August
*With Indian promoters looking to pare non-core business, more buyout deals are likely
The recent transaction of Baring Private Equity Asia to acquire mid-sized information technology (IT) firm Hexaware Technologies is termed the latest example of private equity (PE) firms signing control deals in India. According to experts, Indian promoters’ plans to sell off their non-core business would likely create a plethora of buyout opportunities for PE investors.
Shweta Jalan, managing director of Advent India PE Advisors, said: “We are certainly seeing more buyout deals in the recent past. The common themes in buyout deals are either succession issues or secondary sale from private equity investors.”
PE fund Apax Partners, along with its portfolio company iGate, acquired Patni Computers for $1.2 billion after issues over succession had arisen at Patni.
“We may see more activity as Indian business houses begin to look at divesting some of their non-core businesses to preserve or re-deploy capital to their core businesses and also become relatively less emotionally wedded to the businesses that are non-core,” said Pramod Kumar, managing director of Barclays India.
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