TA Associates acquires stake in Micromax
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (Economic Times): Private equity major TA Associates has picked up a minority stake in domestic handset maker Micromax for about Rs 2.25 billion, a top company official with the cellphone company told the reporter.
While the exact stake amount could not ascertained, the Micromax executive added that it was less than 20 per cent, valuing the handset maker at about Rs 10 billion.
The fund raised will help Micromax expand its handset business to Africa and Latin America. The company is set to launch operations in Nepal later this month, after which it plans to kick off its Africa operations in February-end and also launch in Latin America before the end of this fiscal.
TA Associates is among the global PE majors with over 300 portfolio companies across various sectors - in India, the PE major has invested in Idea Cellular and GlobeOp Financial Services, a specialist BPO company.
TA Associates confirmed the development, but declined to comment on the specifics. "As a fast-growing, profitable company in a growth industry, Micromax ideally fits TA's investment profile," said Naveen Wadhera, director, TA Associates Advisory, who will join the Micromax board of directors.
While the exact stake amount could not ascertained, the Micromax executive added that it was less than 20 per cent, valuing the handset maker at about Rs 10 billion.
The fund raised will help Micromax expand its handset business to Africa and Latin America. The company is set to launch operations in Nepal later this month, after which it plans to kick off its Africa operations in February-end and also launch in Latin America before the end of this fiscal.
TA Associates is among the global PE majors with over 300 portfolio companies across various sectors - in India, the PE major has invested in Idea Cellular and GlobeOp Financial Services, a specialist BPO company.
TA Associates confirmed the development, but declined to comment on the specifics. "As a fast-growing, profitable company in a growth industry, Micromax ideally fits TA's investment profile," said Naveen Wadhera, director, TA Associates Advisory, who will join the Micromax board of directors.