Controlling stake in ACT to be sold by Argan, TA Associates to Partners Group

On Saturday, Argan Limited and TA Associates, a renowned global growth private equity company, announced that they had reached a deal with Partners Group to sell their shares in Atria Convergence Technologies Limited.

Argan will sell its whole stake in ACT, while TA will sell a portion of its stake.

ACT has an Enterprise Value of roughly USD 1.2 billion as a result of the transaction. UBS was the only advisor on the deal.

“We have witnessed ACT evolve exponentially during our partnership of nearly 15 years. We are immensely proud of the company’s sustained operational excellence and customer-centricity, which allowed it to become a household name for nearly 3 million homes … We wish them continued success in all their future endeavors,” Argan’s nominee director on ACT Board Pramod Kabra said.

Argan is a Mauritius-based firm that is backed by a group of international investors led by Indium V. TA Associates, on the other hand, is a prominent global growth private equity firm that has invested in over 550 businesses throughout the world.

Since its inception in 1968, the business has raised $47.5 billion in capital and is committing to new investments at a rate of over $3 billion each year.

True North Fund III bought a majority interest in ACT in June 2008 and brought in the existing management team. In 2016, a group of investors led by Indium V (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd* (“Indium V”) purchased a majority interest in ACT from True North Fund III and other sellers and Argan and TA through Argan and TA.

ACT is a prominent multi-service operator with over 7,000 workers based in Bengaluru. It offers a combination of internet, TV, data, and other broadband services.

The firm boasts almost two million wired internet users in 19 Indian cities and operates one of the country’s largest fibre networks, capable of speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Customer retention is high at ACT, which offers dependable broadband, high uptime, and excellent customer service.

Since the COVID-19 epidemic, the firm has been well-positioned to capitalize from rapidly growing data consumption in India, which has been driven by new working and learning from home trends.

“Today, the ACT is India’s fourth-largest wired broadband service provider with revenues having grown at a CAGR of 40 percent since 2008 … This partnership has helped to unlock our full potential and lead us on the path to success. We sincerely thank our shareholders for their confidence and faith in us, and we look forward to our next chapter of growth with Partners Group and TA,” ACT CEO Bala Malladi said.

ACT Fibernet is one of India’s major wired Internet service providers. It is headquartered in Bengaluru and operates in 19 cities, serving over 1.9 million consumers.

In 2017, it was the first internet service provider to provide 1 Gigabit per second access to Hyderabad, with Bengaluru and Chennai following in 2018.