KKR to acquire Ness Digital Engineering; deal size estimated at $500 mn

Global investment firm KKR will acquire Ness Digital Engineering from The Rohatyn Group in a deal estimated to be worth $500 million

Global investment firm KKR will acquire Ness Digital Engineering from The Rohatyn Group in a deal estimated to be worth USD 500 million.

"KKR...today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will acquire 100 per cent of Ness Digital Engineering, a global full-lifecycle digital services transformation company, from The Rohatyn Group," the statement said.

A source privy to the development said that the deal is valued at about USD 500 million.

Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Ness is a provider of digital transformation services that specialises in building digital software products and platforms.

Ness has a pool of 4,000 staff spread across Eastern Europe, the USA, and India, with 45 per cent of its staff members here.

Gaurav Trehan, Partner and CEO of KKR India said that digital transformation and adoption is a critical strategy for businesses of all sizes, worldwide.

"Against this backdrop, KKR believes that Ness is well-positioned for growth...KKR is pleased to invest in Ness' capabilities and looks forward to working alongside its talented team to further scale Ness' digital-first platform, achieve its global ambitions, and better enable its customers to compete in the digital economy," Trehan said.

Ness' CEO Ranjit Tinaikar said it looks forward to leveraging KKR's global platform and strong investment and operational expertise to deliver more innovative solutions to help our customers keep up with the pace of digitalisation required by the accelerated online economy.

Ness adds to KKR's global portfolio of technology investments. This includes, Cloudera, a provider of enterprise-grade, hybrid data management software in the US; Yayoi, a software developer, distributor, and support service provider for small-and-medium-sized enterprises in Japan; Probe CX, a provider of outsourced customer experience and business process outsourcing solutions in Australia; MYOB, a Australian online business management company; and Jio, a next-generation technology platform that provides digital services across India.