Partners Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd in a deal that values the latter at $1.2 billion, the companies said on Friday.
The Switzerland-based investor is buying approximately 76% stake in the broadband service provider from PE firms True North and TA Associates.
True North and some of its Limited Partners like CPPIB and GIC owned about 57% stake in Atria via a Mauritius vehicle Argan, two persons familiar with the development told VCCircle. While Argan is fully exiting its investment through this deal, TA Associates is selling half of its stake.
True North and its investors are expected to gain anywhere between $684 million and $700 million from the transaction, while TA Associates will get about $225 million from this deal, the persons cited above said. Both investors stand to make nearly 3X on their investment in Atria that was made in 2016, the persons added.
True North’s third fund first invested in Atria in 2008. Thereafter, it sold its stake in Atria to a consortium of investors led by True North’s fifth fund Indium V and TA Associates in March 2016. “We believe Atria will continue to benefit from the tailwinds of rising data consumption,” Dhiraj Poddar, Managing Director, TA and director on the Atria board, said.
The deal closure is subject to regulatory approvals.
Bala Malladi, the chief executive officer of Atria, positioned the company as the fourth largest wired broadband service provider in India with revenues having grown at a CAGR of 40% since 2008.
The company said it expects to benefit from rising data consumption in India, accelerated by new working and learning from home trends since the COVID-19 pandemic.
UBS was the advisor on this deal, according to a press statement.
Headquartered in Bengaluru with more than 7,000 employees, Atria provides internet, TV, data, and other broadband services. The company serves nearly two million wired broadband subscribers across 19 cities in India delivers a connection speed of up to 1 Gbps.