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INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - 1st March - TO - 15th March - 2009
PRIVATE EQUITY PLAYER BARING UPS MPHASIS STAKE BY 3.6% FOR RS 129 CRORE
PRIVATE equity player Baring has scaled up its stake in IT exporter MphasiS by 3.6% to 12.2% for Rs 129 crore. The PE firm bought nearly 76 lakh shares in a bulk deal from Merrill Lynch Capital Markets on the NSE.
The additional investment by the PE firm comes at a time when foreign fund flows have almost dried up across sectors.
The move assumes significance in the wake of the recent ownership change in MphasiS. EDS, which holds over 60% in the firm, has been acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP) globally. It is now a business unit within HP’s Technology Services Group.
Merrill Lynch Capital Markets has almost exited its holdings in MphasiS after the transaction. Aberdeen Asset Managers and HSBC Global Funds hold 3% and 2.7% respectively in MphasiS.
MphasiS founder Jaithirth Rao continues to hold a 1.4% stake in the firm, apart from others such as ICICI Prudential and Lloyd George Investment Management, which hold similar stakes.
Steps to integrate MphasiS with HP have also gained momentum in recent times. In February, Ganesh Ayyar, a veteran HP executive of 20 years, became the firm’s CEO. At that time, however, Mr Ayyar said in an interview that there were no discussions about acquiring the remaining stake in MphasiS or delisting the company. However, he didn’t rule out the possibility that it could happen at a later date. Approximately half of MphasiS’ revenues come from EDS/HP.
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