Blackstone to buy majority stake in Indian IT firm R Systems for $359 million
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside The Blackstone Group headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
:U.S. investment fund Blackstone Inc said on Thursday it would buy a 52 per cent stake in India's R Systems International from the IT services company's promoters for $359 million.
Blackstone said it would pay 245 rupees per R Systems share, a premium of around 4 per cent to the closing price on Wednesday. But, R Systems' shares shot up about 17 per cent to 275.25 rupees in morning trading on Thursday.
"R Systems is well-positioned to benefit from digitalization tailwinds, shorter product launch cycles and increased openness to outsource product development," Blackstone Senior Managing Director Mukesh Mehta said in a statement.
Blackstone said it would launch a conditional de-listing offer at 246 rupees per share and that it was seeking regulatory approval from the Indian market regulator.
Satinder Singh Rekhi, one of R Systems' promoters selling their stake, will be a non-executive advisor to Blackstone.
R Systems' shares had shed a quarter of their value so far this year until Wednesday, after surging about 168 per cent last year.
