Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), the global private equity major, along with CPP Investment Board, today said it had invested an additional $255 million (around Rs 1,225 crore) in communications software firm Aricent.
KKR and CPP Investment Board, which manages the Canada Pension Plan, increased their stake in Aricent by acquiring Flextronics' stake in the company, the private equity player said in a statement.
Together with its initial investment in Aricent in 2006, KKR entities now own 79 per cent of the company. The statement, however, did not disclose the exact amount put in by the CPP Investment Board. The transaction was closed on September 16.
At present, four of the six directors on Aricent’s board are nominated by KKR.
In a statement, Flextronics said the deal would help it increase the cash position as part of a strategy to sell non-core business. During the past year, it has delivered by nearly $1.4 billion, the statement said.
KKR, which had invested in Flextronics’ software business and Bharti Infratel earlier, is in the process of setting up a dedicated team in India and has hired Sanjay Nayar, former CEO for Citi’s South Asian operations, to head it.
At the end of June, KKR had over $37.5 billion in private equity assets under management and more than $13.3 billion in credit assets under management.
However, like most global private equity players present in India, it had not announced fresh investments into India in recent months, citing high valuations.
“We are pleased to invest further in a company that has just reported its highest annual revenue in its history and continues to grow its customer base. This investment reflects our belief in management and the company as they continue to grow Aricent at this very important time in the communications industry,” Nayar said in a statement.
Aricent is a technology and services company focused on communications. It is among the largest privately-held companies in Silicon Valley, with over 550 customers and 8,000 employees across 33 offices. Apart from KKR, other investors in Aricent included Sequoia Capital and The Family Office.
