Blackstone to buy Mphasis in deal worth as much $1.1 billion

Private equity firm Blackstone said it struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard Enterprises to buy a majority stake in Mphasis, putting an end to the buyout battle for the Indian IT firm. (Economic Times)

Companies such as Tech Mahindra and private equity firms such as Apollo and Blackstone had been bidding for the IT company over the last several months. ET had earlier reported that Blackstone had pulled ahead of the out bidders. HP Enterprises owns about 60.5% of Mphasis’ shares. Blackstone said it had agreed to pay Rs 430 per share to the US technology company. The deal with HPE will automatically trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of listed Indian IT arm. Based on the openoffer subscription, Blackstone pegged the purchase price at between $825 million and $1.1 billion. HP Enterprises has also agreed to sign a fiveyear masterservices agreement with Mphasis, the private equity firm said. Under the MSA, the US company has committed to a minimum revenue amount escalating year over year and totaling $990 million over the next five years., Mphasis BSE 1.66 % will be included in HPE’s Preferred Provider Program opening up significant additional revenue opportunities. HP Enterprises is one of Mphasis’ biggest sources of revenue, though that has been declining for several quarters. “The company has an experienced management team who has a clear roadmap for company’s growth. With a longterm commitment of company’s largest customer, HPE, we are confident that Mphasis will scale new heights,” Amit Dixit, Senior Managing Director and CoHead of Private Equity in India at Blackstone, said.

MphasiS was founded 2000 and, six years later, Electronics Data Systems Corp bought a majority stake in the firm. HewlettPackard bought EDS in 2008 and so took over the majority stake in Mphasis.