PE majors Carlyle & TPG eye stake in NIIT Tech

NEW DELHI: The promoters of Delhi-based IT company NIIT Technologies (NTL)are in talks with private equity (PE) players Carlyle and TPG for selling a majority stake.

Promoters, who currently hold 40% in NTL, may sell anywhere between 25-40 %, the sources said. This will trigger an open offer, where investors can buy 20% more in the company. “NIIT (through its whollyowned subsidiary Scantech Evaluation Services) holds 25% in NTL with a vision to attract strategic partners, if required, and to help in its next level of growth. There is no change in that posi-tion .

Since NTL has a market capitalisation of Rs 1,309 crore, a 60% stake in the company will cost around Rs 1,000 crore, depending on the premium that the investors are willing to pay to the promoters. If the deal goes through, this could be one of the biggest deals in the IT sector.