Outsourced engineering services provider QuEST Global Services Pte Ltd has raised $75 million in funding from private equity major Warburg Pincus by selling a minority stake. The Bangalore-based group, which is ranked the no.1 provider of outsourced engineering services by the Black Book of Outsourcing, had attracted several private equity majors for its fundraise.
VCCircle was the first to report in September that QuEST had shortlisted private equity firms Warburg Pincus, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) and Bain Capital to start due diligence to raise $50-75 million.
QuEST has over 2000 employees and delivery centres in India, the US, Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Spain and UK. It services customers in aerospace and defence, aero engines, power generation, oil & gas and industrial products, and specializes in establishing dedicated low cost engineering centers for global engineering majors. QuEST counts players like Boeing, Rolls Royce and EADS among its clients.
Founded by Aravind Melligeri and Ajit Prabhu 12 years ago, Quest had raised $6 million from Carlyle growth fund in 2003. The promoters bought back the stake four years later backed by a line of credit from ICICI Bank. The Bangalore headquartered group consists of Quest Global Engineering, Quest Global Manufacturng and Quest Global SEZ.
"Through this investment we plan to fund our infrastructure development and invest in strengthening our core business to expand growing needs of our customers,” said Ajit Prabhu, CEO, QuEST Global Services.
“Over a period of 14 years, QuEST has established a strong position in the engineering services space. Co-founders Aravind Melligeri and Ajit Prabhu have established a business located across 12 global delivery centers. Their strong commitment towards quality and focus on customer service has helped them emerge as a preferred partner to several blue-chip organizations,” said Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus India.
Warburg Pincus has closed several other deals too in the past six months. It has reportedly invested $50 million in Chennai-based liquid storage company IMC Ltd. In June, it announced a $85 million investment in diagnostics laboratory chain Metropolis Healthcare.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch was the banker on this deal.