Baring PE to acquire 30 per cent in NIIT Tech

NIIT Technologies announced that funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) have signed definitive agreements to purchase 30 per cent shareholding of NIIT Tech from NIIT and other promoter entities at a price of Rs. 1,394 per share for an estimated consideration of approximately Rs. 2,627 crore.

In accordance with SEBI regulations, BPEA will make an open offer to public shareholders of NIIT Tech to purchase up to 26 per cent additional shareholding at a price of Rs. 1,394 per share. The aggregate consideration for the purchase of shares from promoter entities the open offer is estimated to be approximately Rs. 4,890 crore based on ownership of approximately 56 per cent 

The transaction is conditional upon customary conditions including receipt of regulatory approvals, including anti-trust and competition clearances from the Competition Commission of India.

In addition, NIIT Tech has also announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire WHISHWORKS IT Consulting. WHISHWORKS is an IT services and consulting company that specializes in MuleSoft and Big Data technologies, in which NIIT Tech will acquire 53 per cent stake initially, with the remaining equity being acquired over the next two years via payouts linked to performance.

NIIT Tech also signed a definitive agreement for the sale of its full stake of 88.99 per cent in Esri India Technologies to the other existing equity shareholder Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (Esri, Inc). Esri India Tech operates in the domain of Geographic Information System (GIS) using the distributorship rights of Esri, Inc.

On Monday, NIIT Tech opened and touched a high of Rs. 1,354.8 per share and was trading at Rs. 1330.1 per share, down 1.44 per cent on the BSE in the morning session.