Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) Global private equity major TPG on Wednesday announced a fund infusion of USD 360 million (Rs 2,700 crore) into artificial intelligence-focused Fractal for an undisclosed minority stake.
A part of the money is primary issuance by Fractal, while another is a secondary deal where TPG’s peer Apax has part-sold its stake in the city-based company.
Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder and group chief executive of Fractal, said the new investment values the 2000-founded company upwards of USD 1 billion.
“We are a profitable company and do not require money for organic growth. We will use the new infusion for inorganic growth opportunities,” he told PTI over phone.
The company, which executed five acquisitions in 2021, has a pipeline of acquisition targets and continues to work on the same, he said, adding that capital raising in the past was also driven by the aim of inorganic growth.
After the new capital raising, the overall shareholding structure has become more even, Velamakanni said, adding that both Apax and TPG now own minority stakes in the company while the co-founders also have double digit holding.
TPG Capital Asia has bought the stake through its vehicle TPG Capital Asia and will be getting two seats on the company board.
“In the growing market for data and analytics services, Fractal continues to stand out as one of the most well-established, differentiated providers and a clear leader in AI and advanced analytics,” Puneet Bhatia, co-managing partner of TPG Capital Asia, said.
“We continue to see great momentum in how clients are leveraging AI to accelerate digital transformation,” Velamakanni said.
He added that the company, which has 3,500 employees spread across offices in 16 countries, has been hiring at a brisk pace and added 400 employees a month between July and September 2021.
On the investments side, it devotes 15-20 per cent of its yearly revenues to building new products and services, where the capital will come in handy, he said. PTI AA HRS hrs
