True North, TA Associates to sell controlling stake in Atria Convergence Technologies to Partners Group

Mumbai: Partners Group has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in broadband services company Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd (ACT) from its existing investors Argan (Mauritius) Ltd, an entity advised by homegrown private equity firm True North, and TA Associates, at an enterprise value of nearly $1.2 billion, the companies said in a statement.

Mint was the first to report in August 2020 that the private equity owners of the company had started seeking buyers for a controlling stake.

Argan will exit its entire shareholding in ACT, while TA Associates will partially divest its shareholding. The transaction was advised by UBS, the statement added.

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. The company serves nearly 2 million wired broadband subscribers across 19 cities and has one of the largest fiber networks in India, capable of delivering internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps. In 2019, ACT Fibernet forayed into the consumer category with the launch of ACT stream TV 4K, its streaming device.

“We have witnessed ACT evolve exponentially during our partnership of nearly 15 years. We are immensely proud of the company’s sustained operational excellence and customer-centricity, which allowed it to become a household name. In addition, ACT’s management team has consistently exhibited sharp financial acumen, with a hands-on approach to strategic initiatives to navigate competitive conditions, thereby holding a strong market position over the years,” said Pramod Kabra, Argan’s nominee director on the ACT board.

“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,” said Dhiraj Poddar, managing director, TA Associates.