TPG, Carlyle eye Sai Life; Continuum founder may buy Morgan Stanley stake

By Keshav Sunkara

  • 15 Jun 2018
Credit: Thinkstock

Private equity firms TPG, True North and Carlyle are in separate talks to acquire Tata Capital Ltd’s stake in Sai Life Sciences Ltd for about $130 million (Rs 900 crore), The Times of India reported, citing multiple people aware of the development.

As on 31 March 2017, Tata Capital and its affiliate funds held a stake of around 40% in the Hyderabad-based contract research and manufacturing services provider.

Tata Capital, along with its affiliate funds, and Switzerland-based HBM Partners had invested $31 million (Rs 190 crore) in Sai Life in November 2014.

Sai Life Sciences registered 7.4% growth in consolidated revenue to Rs 460.4 crore for 2016-17, from Rs 429 crore in the previous year. Its net profit was Rs 48 crore as against Rs 35 crore in the previous year, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.

In a separate report, Mint said that Continuum Wind Energy founder Arvind Bansal is looking to buy back Morgan Stanley’s majority stake in the company’s 400 megawatt wind energy platform.

Citing a person aware of the development, the report said Bansal is in talks with various investors to either raise capital to buy Morgan’s stake or to bring on board a new investor who will buy the stake of Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners had invested about Rs 1,200 crore in the company in 2012. It holds a 92.3% stake in Continuum Wind Energy Ltd (Singapore), according to a recent report by Crisil.

Continuum Wind was set up in 2010 by investment banker Arvind Bansal, former Essar Group director Vikash Saraf, former Wipro executive Sukant Gupta, former executive of Asian Pulp & Paper Ashish Swarup, and banker Gautam Chopra.

Continuum has a portfolio of about 1,800 MW, of which 387.5 MW is operational and 150 MW is in construction, according to its website.