Patni Board To Meet, Likely To Discuss iGate-Apax Deal

The board of software services firm Patni Computer Services was planning to meet, a source said, where it is expected to evaluate a deal to sell a majority stake to a consortium of iGate and Apax Partners in a deal worth more than $900 million. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the two sides are still trying to pull together the deal.

“I wouldn’t jump the gun today and says ‘It’s over,’” said Arun Kejriwal, Strategist, KRIS- Mumbai. “The logic is that something has to be worked out, it will be done in two to three days. The Patni family has factions and if one of them is against the deal, they will need to iron it out.”

The Patni family includes three founding brothers, who collectively hold about 46 percent of the company. Private equity firm General Atlantic was also looking to sell its roughly 17 percent holding in the software services exporter, sources had previously told Reuters.

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A consortium of Apax Partners and iGate was close to buying 63 percent of Patni Computer at about 500 rupees a share, a source had told Reuters recently. An expected deal for Patni had also been widely reported in the media. The iGate-Apax consortium, which beat a rival team of Carlyle, Advent International and Akansa Capital to the deal, had planned to make an open offer for another 20 percent stake in Patni following the agreement, the source had said. Talks to sell a stake in the software services exporter have been going on for about two years, but Patni has failed to finalise a deal due to valuation gaps with potential buyers, sources previously had told Reuters.