General Atlantic looks at Kerala co

BANGALORE: The $15 billion private equity giant General Atlantic (GA) is on path to expand its IT investment portfolio in India. The PE firm is close to picking up a substantial minority stake in Kerala-headquartered firm — IBS Software Services, sources said.

The investment is rumoured to be in the range of $25-35 million, though, there was no confirmation. IBS Software declined comment. The deal is likely to be announced anytime, sources added.

IBS, which started its operations in 1997 at the Technopark campus in Thiruvananthapuram, with around 60 people today has a headcount of 1,200. The company provides IT services primarily to the verticals of travel, cargo, logistics and oil and gas.

The other investments by GA in the domestic IT industry include Genpact, Hexaware Technologies, Patni Computer, Infotech Enterprises. In these companies, GA holds significant stake including board representations. Since its first investment in Patni, GA has invested over $600 million in eight companies in India.

IBS has development centres in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi with sales presence in the US, Europe, Middle-East and Asia-Pacific.

IBS has certain marquee clients in its portfolio like Cathay Pacific, Nippon Cargo Airlines and BP. It has also made certain acquisitions by buying out Avient Technologies from Honeywell International and certain technology assets of Discovery Travel System.

GA is a stage independent investor and looks to invest in 8-12 new companies each year with investments generally ranging between $50 and $500 million. Since its inception in 1980, GA has invested in over 160 companies and has current holdings in over 50 companies, of which nearly one-half are based outside the US.