Global Investment firm KKR on Thursday said it has signed definitive agreements to buy digital solutions provider Ness Digital Engineering from The Rohatyn Group (TRG).
The deal is valued at over $500 million, according to people familiar with the development. The investment by KKR is from its Asian Fund IV.
Ness adds to KKR’s portfolio of technology investments, which includes, Cloudera, a provider of enterprise-grade, Yayoi, a software developer, distributor, and support service provider for small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan, Probe CX, a provider of outsourced customer experience and business process outsourcing solutions in Australia, MYOB, an Australian online business management company and Jio in India.
“Digital transformation and adoption is a critical strategy for businesses of all sizes worldwide. Against this backdrop, KKR believes that Ness is well-positioned for growth, supported by its exceptional, experience-led product engineering heritage,” said Gaurav Trehan, Partner and CEO, KKR India.
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Ness is a provider of end-to-end digital transformation services that specializes in building digital software products and platforms. Ness helps organizations build, and evolve their digital platforms to enter new markets, capture new revenue, and gain operational efficiencies. It offers a range of digital practices that include cloud engineering, data and analytics, experience design, intelligence engineering, and salesforce for businesses across sectors.
“We believe this transaction will help us turbocharge our growth plans and further strengthen our competitive market position. We look forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform and strong investment and operational expertise to deliver more innovative solutions to help our customers keep up with the pace of digitalization required by the accelerated online economy,” Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness, said.
Ness has a presence in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with a talent pool across India, Eastern Europe, and the United States.
In India, KKR has been actively closing deals. KKR said it will jointly invest $500 million along with Brookfield and ADIA and pick up minority stakes in group companies of Mumbai and London-based agriculture solutions provider UPL Ltd including its Indian subsidiary Advanta Enterprises Ltd.
Earlier this year, it signed a deal with home decor startup Livspace and a minority stake in Shriram General Insurance.
KKR’s recent investments include a $450 million (around Rs 3,585 crore) investment in Hero Future Energies (HFE), the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group. Earlier this year, it inked a deal with home décor startup Livspace and a minority stake in Shriram General Insurance.