INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY - AUGUST - 2007
The Month that was ...

UK-LISTED KUBERA CROSS BORDER FUND PICKS UP STAKE IN HYDERABAD BASED FIRM, ADAYANA FOR $20 M

IN yet another equity deal involving a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), UK-listed Kubera Cross Border Fund (Kubera) has picked a minority stake estimated to be between 20-30% in e-learning and training firm Adayana for $20 million. Six year old Adayana, led by its CEO Rajiv Tandon, is a Minnesota (US) headquartered firm with primary operations located at Hyderabad.

Adayana CEO Rajiv Tandon has said, "This is the first round of institutional funding that we have inducted in the company. The funds would be used for expansion of our infrastructure to support triple digit growth that we are clocking every year." Adayana, which clocked revenues of $15 million for the year ending March'07, is aiming to hit $39 million in topline this financial year.

The company provides learning services for specific verticals: food, agriculture & life sciences; automotive services; defence and knowledge process outsourcing. This apart it designs and develops customised e-learning content and also provides specialised consulting services. SPACs are the latest set of global investor class who have started picking equity stakes in Indian firms. These are investment firms who raise funds through a public offering with the intention of acquiring or picking an stake in small and mid-sized companies in a particular sector or geography. Kubera which raised $200 million at AIM last year is led by founder of IT giant Cognizant, Kumar Mahadeva and Ramanan Raghavendran. Mr. Mahadeva has joined the board of Adayana.

Kubera was established to make investments in businesses that leverage India-based resources for lower costs or greater access to talent. The investment in Adayana is second deal for Kubera. In April, Kubera invested $20 million in Kejriwal Stationery, a privately held company.