D E Shaw, a global private equity firm has picked up a 35 per cent stake in Mysore-based e-learning firm Excelsoft for Rs 125 crore, valuing the Rs 50 crore firm at Rs 350 crore. This 35 per cent stake was held by UTI Ventures, which had invested Rs 2.5 crore in 2001.
UTI Ventures, with this exit has multiplied its investments 50 times, making this among the top exits in the recent history of PE/VC investments in India.
UTI Ventures’ MD & CEO Raja Kumar confirmed the development but declined to spell out further details. According to industry sources, other private equity funds such as Sequoia and Cisco Ventures were in the race to pick up stake in the firm which is estimated to have pretty high net margins.
According to recent information, Excelsoft posted a net profit of Rs 25 crore on a topline of Rs 50 crore. Sources further indicated that UTI Ventures in addition to selling its stake to D E Shaw, has invested a further $5 million in this firm at its present valuations.
Excelsoft provides a range of customised learner-centric systems, test and assessment systems and desktop tools. Industry analysts indicate that the firm has attracted such a premium valuation due its product licensing approach on which services and consulting add value and stickiness.
“Excelsoft has created intellectual property in the area of e-learning technologies and combines its strengths in software development, instructional design and e-learning content development to deliver e-learning solutions,” the analyst noted.
Excelsoft presently employs around 500 people across Mysore, Hyderabad and New Delhi, and serves a marquee of clients from global educational publishers, universities and corporates.
A few of its clients include Pearson Education, Infosys Technologies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Oxford University, World Bank, UNESCO besides a clutch of others. Excelsoft, off late, has been keenly focussing on the test and assessment platform which are key enablers for universities.
The D E Shaw group is a global investment and technology development firm. Set up in 1988, the D E Shaw group encompasses a number of closely-related entities with approximately 1,300 employees and about $36 billion in aggregate investment capital.
The firm is headquartered in New York and has presence in other cities of North America, Europe and Asia. This global firm is understood to be close to the $1 billion investment mark in various companies across sectors in India.
Source: Business Standard