Blackstone Group, the US-based investment company, is in exclusive talks to acquire a minority stake in one of the pioneers of the Indian technology landscape Sify Technologies, reports Bloomberg.
According to the report, Chennai headquartered Sify Technologies has sought a valuation of around $1 billion to $1.2 billion in a transaction. It’s unclear what valuation the Blackstone stake purchase will be struck at and talks could still fall apart.
Sify Technologies Chairman Raju Vegesna and CEO Kamal Nath own and operate data centers as well as India’s largest multiprotocol label switching, or MLPS, network . In a January earnings call, the company said it was expanding its data-center footprint in cities including Mumbai, Noida and Chennai.
However, it is unclear what valuation the Blackstone stake purchase will be struck at and the talks between the firms could still fall apart.
Sify’s American depositary receipts rose 6.7% in pre-market trading on Friday in the U.S. The company had a market value of about $484 million as of Thursday.
Sources reveals that, Blackstone has struck several deals in India in recent months, acquiring the glass unit of conglomerate Piramal Enterprises Ltd. and real estate assets from developer Prestige Estates Projects Ltd.
Aadhar Housing Finance, controlled by the asset manager, has filed a draft prospectus with India’s market regulator in January for an initial public offering that could raise about $1 billion.
