Private equity firm Creador has invested $18 million (Rs 125 crore) in enterprise-focussed information technology solutions company iValue InfoSolutions Pvt. Ltd.
The investment, through affiliate Sundara (Mauritius) Ltd, is Creador’s 11th investment in India, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The South- and Southeast Asia-focussed PE firm will take a minority stake in iValue.
iValue said it would use the capital to meet its growth objectives by partnering with large technology-focussed vendors. Chief strategic officer S Sriram said iValue was also looking to grow inorganically through acquisitions.
Creador managing partner Anand Narayan said iValue had established itself as a strong player in the cybersecurity and solutions segment. “Our investment will benefit iValue in providing a compelling and complimenting portfolio of offerings and collaborate with larger technology and channel partners,” Narayan said.
iValue, founded by former Wipro Group employees in 2008, says it provides over 75 product offerings to its clients. These range from vulnerability assessment and network penetration testing to compliance audits and business continuity services. It says it has 6,000 customers and 700 partners.
The company reported net sales of Rs 525.80 crore for the financial year ended March 2018. For 2018-19, its revenue was Rs 711.69 crore, according to chief finance officer Swaroop MVN.
Creador has invested across sectors in India. In February, VCCircle reported that the firm had made Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd its biggest bet in India after increasing its stake to 9.9% by spending about $28 million (around Rs 200 crore then). In 2017, Creador had picked up a 5% stake in the company.
In April, Creador invested about Rs 166 crore to buy shares of Mumbai-listed PC Jeweller Ltd on the open market to raise its stake to 8.6% from 4.76%, making the company its second-biggest bet in terms of principal investment. In 2015, the firm had invested about Rs 135 crore in the jewellery retailer.
*This article has been updated to include iValue's revenue for 2018-19.