The Hindu Business Line : Ravi Ramu quits MphasiS BFL — Baring stake sale may get delayed

TWO senior officials of MphasiS BFL Ltd including the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Ravi Ramu, have quit, even as the largest shareholder in the company, Barings India Investment Ltd, is in the process of offloading its 35.5 per cent stake.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MphasiS Technologies, Mr Anand Mutalik, also quit recently to start a new venture along with two of his former colleagues.

Mr Ramu is joining Times Internet Ltd as CFO. Mr Alok Mishra, the current Vice-President (Finance), is tipped to take over as the new CFO of MphasiS, sources said.

While the reasons for Mr Ramu's exit were not known, analysts said his exit could impact the Barings India' stake sale process, which was already taking a longer time than expected. Market speculation is that the Singapore government fund Temasek and Hinduja TMT were the front-runners for the Barings' stake in Mphasis.

Commenting on his exit from MphasiS, Mr Ramu said that he had this opportunity for several months and decided to take it up now. "Media and entertainment is an industry set to take off," he said. However, Mr Ramu said he would continue in his current role with MphasiS till the Barings deal was concluded, which may happen over the next few weeks.

Mr Ramu quits after serving MphasiS for almost four years. Before joining MphasiS, Mr Ramu was the Finance Director with Ivega Corporation, a technology services start-up in the banking and financial services space.

Mutalik floats Code Theatre

Code Theatre Infotech Pvt Ltd is the new software services start-up being floated by the former COO of MphasiS Technologies, Mr Anand Mutalik, along with two of his ex-colleagues, Mr Vishwanath Honnungar and Mr Ashok Doreswamy.

Code Theatre will focus on niche verticals such as healthcare and telecom, especially the mobile segment, Mr Mutalik said adding the company would be self-funded initially. The three partners expect to invest Rs 1 crore over the next six months and may subsequently look at raising funds from investors, he said.

Mr Mutalik was the co-founder of the erstwhile Kshema Technologies, which MphasiS BFL acquired last year. While Mr Vishwanath Honnungar was Vice-President and head of mobile technologies practice at MphasiS Technologies, Mr Ashok Doreswamy was the Associate Vice-President at Kshema Technologies. "We are also working on about eight to ten product ideas," Mr Mutalik said, adding Code Theatre has already started hiring people both freshers and laterals. The company plans to have a headcount of some 50 people by March 2006 and increase it later to 130 in a year's time.

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Ravi Ramu quits MphasiS BFL — Baring stake sale may get delayed