Tag: blackstone

Carlyle Group has emerged as the sole bidder to acquire Blackstone Group-owned Mphasis in what would be the largest buyout in the Indian IT industry, according to some sources. The offer to buy Blackstone’s controlling 56.12% stake is believed to be at Rs 1,450-1,500 a share—lower than Mphasis' closing share price of Rs 1,701.70 on 23rd Feb.2021. The transaction that will lead to a change of control will also trigger an open offer for an additional 26% shareholding of the company. At the higher end of Carlyle’s bid, Blackstone will receive Rs 15,730 crore (more than $2 billion) for its stake in Mphasis—a 12% discount to its current holding valued at Rs 17,838 crore. Depending on the success of the open offer, Carlyle might have to shell out another Rs 7,400 crore based on the 60-day average price of Rs 1,538 a share. Read more

India's online-education giant Byju’s has signed a deal to acquire brick & mortar test prep leader Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for $1 billion, according to some sources. Bangalore-headquartered Byju’s is valued at $12 billion and has been on a fund-raising spree as the pandemic has sent a demand for its online lessons soaring. Blackstone Group-backed Aakash Educational Services runs Aakash Institute, which has over 200 brick and mortar centers and tutors students to gain entry into the country’s elite engineering and medical schools. Its student count is over 250,000, according to its website. While online learning startups have thrived, offline tutoring centers have been badly hit by the pandemic, which has closed schools and tutoring centers since March last year. Read more