Black Box looking for partnerships, M&A in India market

Digital infrastructure firm Black Box is looking for partnerships or mergers and acquisitions to enter the Indian market, which is the most lucrative data centre opportunity for the next three to five years, said Sanjeev Verma, a wholetime director of the Essar Group subsidiary.

The systems integrator serves top tech companies in more than 35 countries. It offers data centre services, along with connectivity and networking infrastructure.

The company is aiming to achieve $2 billion in revenue in the next four years, Verma said.


“We are targeting an organic revenue increase from $800 million to $1.3 billion over the next four years with anticipated double-digit growth and a 10% operating margin goal. We will continue to look for accretive inorganic opportunities,” the executive said.

“India, in particular, serves as a crucial hub for global expertise and delivery. Leveraging our experience with large-scale international projects, we aim to bring this expertise to India, filling a unique niche in executing global service-side projects,” Verma said.

The company is reorganising its go-to-market strategy by focusing on the top 250 revenue-contributing clients, he said. “We are also eliminating long-tail customers to enhance service quality and margins.”

Last month, the Mumbai-based company raised Rs 410 crore via a preferential issue of shares, to fund expansion of data-centre infrastructure services globally and tap into the growing demand for AI computing.

Formerly known as AGC Networks, Black Box became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Essar Group in 2019, when the latter acquired 59% of its outstanding shares and delisted the company from Nasdaq.

It today employs 4,000 globally, with a quarter of them based in India, servicing the North American market.

For the quarter ended June 2024, Black Box’s revenues declined 9.4% to Rs 1,423 crore while profit grew 54% to Rs 37 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization were Rs 115 crore.

The company’s shares closed 0.6% lower at Rs 512.20 on the BSE Friday.