Fairfax edges past L&T Infotech, Tech Mahindra in race for Mindtree stake

Mindtree's founders are unwilling to shed their holding as the mid-tier firm is showing a strong growth momentum

With the founders of Mindtree reluctant to cash in their holdings, Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax is learnt to be leading the race to acquire V G Siddhartha’s stake in the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm, sources in the know said. Currently, Siddhartha holds close to a 21 per cent stake through various entities, while the founders of Mindtree — Subroto Bagchi, N S Parthasarathy, Krishnakumar Natarajan and Rostow Ravanan — hold around 13 per cent in the company.
 
Despite L&T Infotech’s serious evaluation of the deal, Fairfax’s offer appears to be gaining acceptance as the Mindtree founders seem to prefer a