Private equity firm Avigo Capital has exited sports, entertainment and media management firm Technology Frontiers by selling its entire 26 per cent stake to PE firm ADV Partners.
Mahendra Swarup, managing director and partner at Avigo India, confirmed the development but declined to give any details. Swarup would also quit the board of Technology Frontiers as a result of the stake sale.
VCCircle has learnt that the deal is a mix of primary and secondary fund infusion where ADV Partners agreed to pay about $35 million (Rs 232 crore) for a 30 per cent stake. This values Technology Frontiers around $117 million (Rs 776 crore).
Avigo is pocketing $20 million from the stake sale, angel investors are getting around $5 million for a partial exit and the remaining $10 million is fresh investment by ADV into the company, a person familiar with the development said.
The person said that promoters now own 29 per cent of Technology Frontiers. PE firm FidelisWorld is the single largest shareholder with a 35 per cent stake. The stake held by angel investors and through employee stock options totals 6 per cent.
The news was first reported by The Economic Times.
Avigo invested in Technology Frontiers in 2011 for $10 million. Based on the current deal size, the PE firm has doubled its investment value.
The exit comes at a time when Avigo is struggling to earn returns for its investors and limited partners like Siguler Guff have taken over managerial control of the PE firm.
Some of Avigo’s other exits include Bharat Box, Comat and Privi Organics. The firm last year also exited its investment in Spykar Lifestyle Pvt Ltd to copper smelter and refinery firm Metdist Ltd.
FidelisWorld invested in Technology Frontiers last year and hasn’t sold any stake in this round.
ADV Partners was founded in 2013 by a group of former executives at Mount Kellett Capital Management. The latest investment was through its maiden fund, ADV Opportunities Fund-I, a $545 million, Asia-focused fund. This fund is backed by fund-of-funds Asia Alternatives, a sovereign wealth fund, a superannuation fund, multiple US state pension programmes, endowments and family offices.