RPG buys Fujitsu’s 29% Zensar stake
RPG buys Fujitsu's 29% Zensar stake
Mumbai: Showing keen interest in the information technology (IT) business, the $1.65 billion, tyre-to-retail RPG group, has entered into an agreement to purchase joint-venture partner Fujitsu Services’ 29.18% stake in Pune-based software company, Zensar Technologies, for an undisclosed amount.
Based on the current market price, the buy out would cost Rs167 crore. The Zensar stock rose 1.9% on Friday to close at Rs242.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. “An open offer will not be necessitated to other shareholders because this is an inter-se transfer between promoters," said Pradipta Mahapatra, president and CEO of RPG Enterprises.
The RPG group will double its stake in the company to 58.36% post-buy out. The next-largest shareholder in the company is private equity firm Electra Partners Mauritius which holds 21.73%. Fujitsu has also been a client for Zensar and it contributed 5% of revenue in the last financial year. “The acquisition will not affect our relationship for the existing business with Fujitsu," Ganesh Natarajan, vice-chairman and managing director of Zensar Technologies Ltd, told Mint.
With this, the year-long negotiations between the RPG group and its Japanese partner have concluded. Zensar Technologies had acquired New York-based systems integrator ThoughtDigital for $24.9 million last week.
With the RPG group getting the majority stake, the company is most likely to get aggressive on aquisitions, says Natarajan.
“The company is looking at acquisitions in language markets like Japan, Germany and South Africa," Ganesh had said last week.
For the quarter ended December 2006, Zensar reported a 57% increase in net profit to Rs13.22 crore.
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