ABNL IT & ITeS Ltd., a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo to divest Aditya Birla Minacs

Mumbai: ABNL IT &; ITeS Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. (ABNL), today announced that it has entered into an agreement to divest its IT-ITeS subsidiary, Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Limited, subject to customary closing conditions, third party consents and regulatory approvals. Pursuant to a share purchase agreement with a group of financial investors led by Capital Square Partners (CSP) and CX Partners (CXP), ABNL IT &; ITeS Ltd will divest Aditya Birla Minacs at an Enterprise Value of US$260 million subject to the working capital adjustments.

Aditya Birla Nuvo, a US$4.75 billion conglomerate, entered the ITeS sector in 2003 through acquisition of TransWorks, a US$12 million company. Later to provide scale to the business, TransWorks acquired Minacs, a US$265 million company in 2006. Committed to its turnaround and growth, ABNL supported Minacs over the years, to attain revenue of ~US$450 million (Rs.2,466 crore) and net profit of ~US$23 million (Rs.125 crore) in fiscal 2012-13.

Today, Aditya Birla Minacs has risen to the stature of a global business solutions provider that partners with global corporations through its 35 centres spanning 10 countries across three continents. To further expand its scale, enhance its competitive advantage and attain the next level of growth, Minacs requires capital investments.

Being a conglomerate, Aditya Birla Nuvo constantly evaluates its capital allocation strategy and reviews its business portfolio. Given the multiple growth opportunities and ensuing capital requirements at ABNL, the company decided to divest Minacs to a strategic financial investor, with extensive domain experience, who can ensure that Minacs continues to progress forward on its strategic roadmap.

Dr. Rakesh Jain, Managing Director, Aditya Birla Nuvo, said, "Considering ABNL's capital commitment and growth plans for other businesses, the company has decided to divest Minacs. We are confident that the new shareholders will provide the requisite direction to Minacs and enable it to rise to its full potential."

Mr. Sushil Agarwal, Whole Time Director and CFO, Aditya Birla Nuvo, emphasised, "The cash flow from the divestment of Minacs will support the growth plans of Aditya Birla Nuvo and ensure greater focus in its other businesses."

Mr. Sanjay Chakrabarty and Mr. Aparup Sengupta, partners of CSP, an investment holding company investing partners' principal capital in private companies, jointly said, "We are both very excited to embark on this new beginning with Minacs. This is a great company with exciting potential and a promising future."

Mr. Ajay Relan, Managing partner of CX Advisors, advisors to CXP, a leading India focused US$500+ million private equity fund, said, "We are indeed excited to be a part of this new journey of Minacs in the coming years."

Macquarie Capital is the exclusive financial advisor and Shearman &; Sterling is the legal advisor to the private equity consortium on the transaction.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 2-3 months, subject to the requisite customary and regulatory approvals.

About Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd
Aditya Birla Nuvo is a US$4.75 billion conglomerate. Over the years, it has successfully ventured into the service sectors viz., Financial Services (Life Insurance, Asset Management, NBFC, Private Equity, Broking, Wealth Management and general insurance advisory), Fashion &; Lifestyle, Telecom, and IT-ITeS. Its razor sharp focus on manufacturing businesses has made it a leading player in the Agri, Rayon and Insulators sectors.

Aditya Birla Nuvo is part of the Aditya Birla Group, a US$42 billion Indian multinational. The Group operates in 36 countries across the globe, is anchored by an extraordinary force of over 136,000 employees belonging to 42 nationalities and derives more than 50 per cent of its revenue from its overseas operations.

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