Mphasis on alpha returns: Why Blackstone finds Indian IT so attractive

The expansion of its stake in the mid-size IT services company is part of a trend of PE players betting big on the Indian IT sector

When Blackstone invested $2.8 billion to acquire a 26 per cent stake in 21-year-old Bengaluru-based IT services company Mphasis, this alone accounted for about 40 per cent of the $5.5 billion this PE giant invested in India in the first four months of 2021. That, as Amit Dixit, Senior Managing Director and Head of Private Equity--Asia, Blackstone, recently said represents a massive commitment by the PE player in the Indian IT sector in general and Mphasis, in which it already owns 56 per cent. Addressing analysts after the Mphasis announcement, Dixit said the company would be a 10-15 year investment story.