True North’s investment arm Argan will exit its entire shareholding in ACT, while TA will partially divest its shareholding. Both funds together held about 95% stake in ACT. Post transaction, Partners will hold 75% stake, TA will hold about 20% and the rest of the stake will be held by the management, said people aware of the development.
Investment bank UBS advised the investors for the stake sale.
Partners Group is negotiating with the private equity investors to acquire Atria Convergence Technologies, ET first reported on May 13. The existing investors are now eyeing a valuation of Rs 10300 crore to Rs 12,000 crore ($1.4 billion to $1.6 billion), ET reported.
Partners Group, with $109 billion in assets under management worldwide, has made two major investments in India were it acquired AU Housing Finance in 2016 and Vishal Mega Mart in 2018 – both deals with domestic PE fund Kedaara Capital.
Headquartered in Bengaluru with more than 7,000 employees, ACT is a leading multi-service operator offering a package of internet, TV, data, and other broadband services.
With two million wired broadband subscribers across 19 cities in India, ACT is the fourth-largest wired broadband service provider after Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., and Reliance Jio and operates under the brand ACT Fibernet.
Promoted by CS Sundar Raju in 2000, ACT operates in the cable television segment mainly in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nellore and Vijayawada. It is expanding its presence in other cities including New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur.
In June 2008, True North Fund III acquired a controlling stake in ACT and brought in the company’s current management team. In 2016, a consortium of investors led by True North’s Indium V (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd (investing through Argan) and TA acquired a controlling stake in ACT from True North Fund III and other sellers.
“Since our investment in 2016, we have been fortunate to see ACT grow significantly in size and areas of operations to more than 19 cities across the country,” said Dhiraj Poddar, Managing Director, TA and director on the ACT Board.
“Today, ACT is India’s fourth largest wired broadband service provider with revenues having grown at a CAGR of 40% since 2008,” said Bala Malladi, CEO, ACT. This partnership with investors has helped to unlock our full potential and lead us on the path to success, Malladi added.
