Blackstone to buy controlling stake in Mphasis for up to $2.8B

Mumbai, April 26 Leading investment firm Blackstone on Monday announced to acquire a controlling stake in IT services firm Mphasis for up to $2.8 billion.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), UC Investments and other long-term investors will co-invest along with Blackstone.

Based on the open offer subscription, the blended purchase price will vary between Rs 1,452 to Rs 1,497 per share and the purchase consideration will vary between Rs 152 billion to Rs 210 billion (approximately $2 billion to $2.8 billion), Blackstone said in a statement.

"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 deal is expected to be completed in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.