Tech Mahindra acquires New York-based BORN Group for $95 million

BORN’s services include consulting, content creation, maintenance and hosting services, digital and social marketing, among others. It has clients such as Google, Tata, Red Bull and TAG Heuer.

BORN has offices in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and India and employs over 1,100 people.

The firm is owned by private equity firm True North and Zodius Capital. True North acquired a controlling stake in the firm in 2011, when it was known as Group FMG.

In 2012, Group FMG acquired New York-based creative digital agency Pod1 Inc. It rebranded itself as BORN Group in 2014.

BORN recorded a revenue of $50 million in 2018, up from $39 million and $36 million in the preceding two years. Tech M will buy BORN’s India unit, while Tech Mahindra Pte, the IT firm’s Singapore arm, will takeover other entities. The deal is expected to close by 15 November, Tech M said. While the enterprise value of BORN has been pegged at $95 million, the deal also includes a future payout of $25 million linked to achievement of financial targets for the year to December, the company added.

Tech M announced the deal along with its September quarter results. For the period, consolidated net profit rose 17% to ₹1,124 crore, while revenue from operations grew 5.1% to ₹9,070 crore.