General Atlantic plans to exit IBS Software through US listing

General Atlantic made one of the largest exits in 2014 after selling half its stake in IndusInd Bank for $125 mn

US-based private equity (PE) major General Atlantic plans to exit from IBS Software Services through its proposed initial public offering (IPO) in Nasdaq in 2015. According to people in the know, IBS Software is in talks with various bankers for the listing process.

IBS expects a valuation of $500 million during the public listing. The size of the IPO would be in the range of $150 million, sources said.

General Atlantic, which holds a significant minority stake in the Thiruvananthapuram-based information technology (IT) services company, had invested $60 million in the firm in 2007.

IBS Software Services provides IT solutions to the global TTL (travel, transportation and logistics) sector. It employs, about 2,000 people at nine offices in US, Europe, Asia-Pacifc, West Asia and Africa. Its customer list includes Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, London Heathrow Airport, BP, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Chevron, China Eastern Airlines, IndiGo, Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, etc.

IBS had revenues of Rs 300 crore for 2013. An IBS spokesperson said, "We have plans for an IPO, but nothing has been firmed up as yet. We will share details as soon as we are in a position to do so." General Atlantic spokesperson refused to comment.

"In 2013, IBS had plans to float an IPO at Indian bourses, but bad market conditions forced it to put the options on hold," said a person in the know.

Founded by Mathews in 1997, IBS started operations from Technopark in the Kerala capital. It has grown through serial acquisitions. Its six acquisitions in various geographies include Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated, an Atlanta-based IT solutions provider to the hospitality sector; Moveo Systems, a Bengaluru-based developer of human interaction solutions for airports and enterprises; VISaer, a US-based IT firm in aviation maintenance and engineering; Discovery Travel Systems, Virginia-based business-to-business travel technology provider; Avient Technologies; and TopAir, which caters to the flight operation needs of small and medium-sized airlines.

General Atlantic's India portfolio includes CitiusTech, AND Designs, and Asian Genco. Since its first investment in Patni Computers in 2002, General Atlantic has invested about $1 billion in companies in India.

The US PE firm made one of the largest exits in 2014 after selling off half its stake in Hinduja Group-promoted IndusInd Bank for $125 million. General Atlantic has made twice the return on its investment in IndusInd. The PE firm currently holds 2.4 per cent in IndusInd. It had sold its 14.6 per cent stake in Patni in 2011, at a return of around 150 per cent.

Includes a quote from IBS spokesperson