iGATE Corporation announced that it has acquired 63 per cent stake in Patni Computer Systems Ltd, in a transaction valued at around $1.22 billion, including the mandatory 20 per cent open offer to Patni's public shareholders.

Commenting on the deal, Mr Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGATE Corporation, said, “This is probably one of the largest deals in Indian IT.” This vaults iGATE into the big league of players, with the combined entity now commanding close to $1 billion in annual revenues and about 25,000 people on the rolls.

iGATE has signed deals with Mr Narendra K. Patni and his two brothers (who own 45.6 per cent of Patni) and private equity firm General Atlantic (which owns 17.4 per cent) at a price of Rs 503.50 per share, amounting to an acquisition cost of $921 million. Two nominees from iGATE would now join Patni's board. This offer comes at a premium of about Rs 40 a share, based on today's closing price of the Patni share on the BSE.

Funds for the acquisition

Mr Murthy said that iGATE had been a debt-free company till before this deal. To fund the Patni acquisition, iGATE will have to raise $1.2 billion, which will be a combination of cash-in-hand, debt and equity financing. iGATE has secured commitment for debt financing from Jeffries & Co. and Royal Bank of Canada for up to $750 million. It has also agreed to sell between $270 million and $480 million of preferred stock at a price of $20.30 to Viscaria Ltd, a company backed by funds advised by Apax Partners.

At the end of the September 2010 quarter, iGATE had cash-in-hand of about $120 million.

Delisting

iGATE, which is listed on NASDAQ, hinted that only one of the two entities would remain publicly listed. “Will there be two publicly listed companies forever? Probably not,” Mr Murthy said. He, however, added that the board had not yet taken a decision on this.

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