Overview:
On 25 October 2021, Tech Mahindra announced the acquisitions of Lodestone, a US-based digital engineering services provider and WMW, a UK-based, Shopify-focused ecommerce agency for $105m and $13m, respectively.
Lodestone strengthens Tech Mahindra’s end-to-end product quality assurance capabilities especially in data strategy and machine learning.
The acquisition of WMW aligns with Tech Mahindra’s plan to build a market-leading Shopify consulting practice and deepens its capabilities in experience design.
About Tech Mahindra:
Founded in 1986, Tech Mahindra is a global digital transformation, consulting and business reengineering services provider based in Pune, India with $5.11bn revenue in FY 21(1). It is a part of the $19bn Indian conglomerate, Mahindra Group.
Tech Mahindra offers end-to-end digital transformation services by leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity and AI. It has over 141,100 employees across 90 countries, working with 1,123 customers.
About Lodestone:
Founded in 2005, Lodestone is a digital engineering services provider. It provides end-to-end product and data quality assurance across software, hardware and data layers to enterprises .
Lodestone recorded $43.3m revenue in 2020. Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, it has over 300 employees.
About WMW:
Founded in 2009, We Make Websites (WMW) is a Shopify-focused ecommerce agency offering website building and migration services.
WMW recorded $6.3m revenue in 2020. Based in London, UK, it has an additional office in New York, NY.
Rationale of the transaction:
With the acquisitions of Lodestone and WMW, Tech Mahindra has completed nine transactions thus far in 2021. The acquisitions are in line with Tech Mahindra’s strategy to strengthen its digital transformation capabilities and presence in key geographies.
The acquisition of Lodestone will be completed at an enterprise value of c.$105m, representing an EV / Revenue multiple of 2.4x based on CY 20 financials whereas that of WMW will be completed at an enterprise value of c.$13m, representing an EV / Revenue multiple of 2.0x based on CY 20 financials.
Lodestone brings significant synergies to complement Tech Mahindra’s digital engineering expertise. WMW will bolster Tech Mahindra’s Shopify consulting practice by enhancing its CX capabilities and deepening its partnerships with ecommerce technology partners like Shopify Plus and Oracle NetSuite.
Note:
(1) YE: Mar
The Chesapeake Group was not an advisor in these transactions.