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ACT Fibernet said Saturday that Swiss PE fund Partners Group has agreed to acquire about 75% stake in the company, from its investors True North and TA Associates.
Partners Group to Buy ACT Fibernet
In May, V&D had reported that Partners Group were in talks with ACT to buy the broadband provider. And on 14th, the deal went through. Partners will pay around ₹6750 crore for the 75% stake, where the transaction values ACT at an Enterprise Value of nearly ₹9000 Crore. Investment bank UBS advised the investors for the stake sale.
True North's investment arm Argan will sell its entire shareholding in ACT. On the other hand, TA will partially divest its shareholding in the company. Also, the two promoters held about 95% stake in ACT Fibernet directly.
After the transaction goes through, Partners will hold 75% stake in the company. Further, TA will hold 20% of the rest, and the remaining 5% went to the management.
Partners Group already has two investments in India, namely, AU Housing Finance and Vishal Mega Mart. Partners had negotiated the deals in 2016, and 2018, respectively. ACT Fibernet will become its third major acquisition in India.
A Broadband Leader in India
ACT Fibernet is the 4th largest wireline service provider with two million broadband subscribers across 19 cities in India. It has a major operations in cable TV in South India; cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nellore and Vijayawada are some of its biggest markets. What's more, it has expanded in North India as well; ACT has launched its services in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur.
"Since our investment in 2016, we have been fortunate to see ACT grow significantly in size and areas of operations to more than 19 cities across the country," said Dhiraj Poddar, Managing Director, TA and director on the ACT Board.
"Today, ACT is India's fourth largest wired broadband service provider with revenues having grown at a CAGR of 40% since 2008," said Bala Malladi, CEO, ACT. He added, "this partnership with investors has helped to unlock our full potential and lead us on the path to success".