Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Advised NIIT Technologies Limited In The Acquisition Of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (SAM & Co) advised NIIT Technologies Limited in the acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited with an initial acquisition of 100% stake in three tranches and the sale of 88.99% shareholding in ESRI India Technologies Ltd (formerly NIIT GIS Ltd) to Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc (ESRI US).
The transaction in the acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited involved the sale of the entire share capital of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited to NIIT Technologies Limited by the Promoters in multiple tranches, with an initial acquisition of 53% stake and the remaining equity to be acquired in terms of the transaction documents.
The Merger & Acquisition practice team at SAM & Co acted as the transaction counsel of both deals for NIIT Technologies Limited. In the acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited, SAM & Co advised on structuring of the transaction, conducting a legal due diligence and preparing an issues list and drafting and negotiating of all transaction documents.
The transaction team from SAM & Co in acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited included Mr. Inder Mohan Singh, Partner; Mr. Mohammed Abid Hussain Principal Associate; Ms. Diya Das, Senior Associate; Mr. Ankur Verma, Associate; and Mr. Asish Ghosh, Manager- Compliance.
The transaction team from SAM & Co in the sale of shareholding in ESRI India Technologies Ltd included Mr. Inder Mohan Singh, Partner; Ms. Sadia Khan, Partner, Mohammed Abid Hussain Principal Associate; Mr. Ankit Goel, Senior Associate and Ms. Diya Das, Senior Associate.
Other parties involved in the acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited are AZB & Partners who acted as the transaction counsel for the Sellers, Equirus Capital who acted as financial advisors to the Sellers, Pi Capital Advisors who acted as financial advisors to NIIT Technologies Limited and Ernst and Young India acted a tax advisors to NIIT Technologies Limited.
Baker & Mckenzie acted as the legal counsel for Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc in the sale of shareholding in ESRI India Technologies Ltd.
The total deal value in acquisition of Whishworks IT Consulting Private Limited is INR 286.7 crore.
The total deal value in sale of shareholding in ESRI India Technologies Ltd is INR 89.7 crore
The definitive agreement for the both the transactions were signed on 6th April 2019.
About Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (SAM & Co), founded on a century of legal achievements, is one of India's leading full-service law firms. The Firm's mission is to enable business by providing solutions as trusted advisers through excellence, responsiveness, innovation and collaboration. SAM & Co is known globally for its exceptional practices in mergers & acquisitions, private equity, competition law, insolvency & bankruptcy, dispute resolution, capital markets, banking & finance and projects & infrastructure.
The Firm has a pan-India presence and has been at the helm of major headline transactions and litigations in all sectors, besides advising major multinational corporates on their entry into the Indian market and their business strategy. Currently, the Firm has over 550 lawyers including 111 Partners, offering legal services through its offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai.
For further information, please contact –
Vimarsh Bajpai
M: +91 9971687647
Email: vimarsh.bajpai@AMSShardul.com
Urvashi Datwani
M: +91 9820122102
Email: urvashi.datwani@AMSShardul.com
Yohima Bhawta
M: +918375057521
Email: ybhawta@webershandwick.com