The deal is believed to be of Rs.180 crore
Vedanta Group’s technology arm Sterlite Technologies Limited to acquire the Ahmedabad-based Elitecore Technologies Private Limited in an all cash deal worth Rs. 180 crore.
The acquisition will give Sterlite forward integration with respect to software and network management for the Integrated Revenue and Customer Management (IRCM) market in India and overseas.
“This is our first acquisition of tech company in Gujarat. The deal is expected to be closed shortly subject to completion of certain regulatory and statutory formalities. The acquisition is funded through internal accruals as we have significant cash reserves,” Anand Agarwal, chief executive officer, Sterlite Technologies.
“With the acquisition Sterlite will get much-needed boost for the Digital India mission and ambitious projects of Smart City development. This will enable us to offer end-to-end solutions for smart city projects, from communications infrastructure to data monetisation and revenue management,” said Agarwal, adding that post acquisition, the company will be able to address around 45-50 per cent needs of the telecom industry.
Elitecore has posted revenues of Rs. 147 crore and EBITDA of Rs. 16 crore and is cash positive on a net debt basis. Company has remained in black for past seven years. Majority owned by First Carlyle Ventures Mauritius, whose affiliate is advised by The Carlyle Group, which had invested $ 11 million in the company to pick up 75 per cent stake in 2007 and later exited from Elitecore’s subsidiary Cyberoam in 2013. “With the acquisition, Carlyle Group exited with over 15 times returns from the company,” said Nikhil Jain, MD & CEO of Elitecore Technologies.
With both Sterlite and Elitecore cater to some of the largest telecom service providers globally, the acquisition will enable both companies to cross-sell their suite of offerings.
