Overview:
On 27 October 2022, KKR announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ness Digital Engineering, a global full-lifecycle digital services transformation company, from The Rohatyn Group (TRG) for over $500m.
About KKR:
KKR is a leading global investment firm that aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach.
It sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds.
KKR has made this investment from its Asia Fund IV which has a fund size of $14.7bn and targets investment in information technology, consumer products and services, manufacturing, TMT industries.
About Ness Digital Engineering:
Founded in 1998, Ness is a leading provider of end-to-end digital transformation services that specializes in building digital software products and platforms.
Ness helps organizations envision, build, and continually evolve their digital platforms to enter new markets, capture new revenue, and gain operational efficiencies. The Company offers a wide range of digital practices that include cloud engineering, data and analytics, experience design, intelligence engineering, and salesforce for businesses across sectors.
It is headquartered in Teaneck, NJ and employs over 4,000 personnel across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Ness was acquired for $307m in Jun-11 by Citi Venture Capital, who were later acquired by TRG in Dec-13.
Rationale of the transaction:
Ness adds to KKR’s portfolio of technology investments, which includes, Cloudera, a provider of enterprise-grade, Yayoi, a software developer, distributor, and support service provider for small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan, Probe CX, a provider of outsourced customer experience and business process outsourcing solutions in Australia, MYOB, an Australian online business management company and Jio Platforms in India.
“Digital transformation and adoption is a critical strategy for businesses of all sizes worldwide. Against this backdrop, KKR believes that Ness is well-positioned for growth, supported by its exceptional, experience-led product engineering heritage.” said Gaurav Trehan, Partner and CEO of KKR India.
“We look forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform and strong investment and operational expertise to deliver more innovative solutions to help our customers keep up with the pace of digitalization required by the accelerated online economy,” said Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness.
The Chesapeake Group was not an advisor in this transaction.