EQT, Partners Group & ITC Info eye a chunk of Ashok Soota's Happiest Minds
Private equity firms EQT and Partners Group as well as IT services player ITC Infotech are in the fray to acquire a controlling stake in listed software company Happiest Minds Technologies from its founder and chairman Ashok Soota, said people familiar with the matter.
Soota, the 83-year old IT industry veteran, who previously founded Mindtree and is a former Wipro executive, owns about 44% stake in Happiest Minds Technologies directly and through investment companies. The promoter group stake was worth about Rs 2,500 crore on Thursday.
“One of the big four firms is currently carrying out a commercial due diligence and a report will be provided to interested bidders within weeks,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.
Another person said, “The discussions are at a very early stage and it may take weeks for it to proceed to the next step. At that stage, depending on the negotiations over valuations, any deal may or may not happen.”
In February, Soota had said at a post-earnings press conference – when asked about stake sale plans – that the company was focused on its artificial intelligence project and that he was “very much at the helm”. He did not respond to multiple queries sent by ET till press time. Happiest Minds Technologies, too, did not respond.
EQT and Partners Group also did not respond to queries sent on Tuesday.
An ITC Infotech spokesperson said in an emailed response, “We do not comment on market speculation”. ITC Infotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC.
“Mid-market IT services firms could see consolidation given some of the headwinds being faced by the outsourcing industry. In this backdrop, one could see larger rivals trying to buy smaller or equally sized players… and PE (private equity) firms also exploring these such acquisitions,” said an industry watcher, who did not wish to be identified.
In the past one year, Happiest Minds Technologies shares have fallen more than 40%, closing 3.2% down on Thursday at Rs 371.60 apiece on the BSE. The company had a market capitalisation of Rs 5,658 crore.
For the October-December 2025 quarter, the company reported a 10% year-on-year increase in its operating revenue to Rs 587 crore, while its net profit fell 20% to Rs 40 crore. CEO Joseph Ananthraju said the company aimed to double its artificial intelligence (AI) team size next year from 500. It has set a revenue target of $1 billion by 2030-31.
Following the rapid adoption of AI tools for software development and automation, software and IT services companies have seen sharp corrections in their valuations, making them increasingly attractive targets for private equity buyouts. ET reported on March 2 that private equity investors are accelerating control deals in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment, betting on an AI-led shakeout that is compressing valuations and creating a buyer’s market for profitable companies.
Over the past year, several mid-to-late stage SaaS firms have either seen majority stake acquisitions by private equity players or have moved toward internal consolidation to strengthen balance sheets and defend margins.
“There are several software deals in the market and private equity investors are actively evaluating them, but valuations are where incoming investors are pushing hard,” said an investment banker familiar with such transactions. “Right now, transactions are stalling where there isn’t enough clarity on how demand will evolve over the next 12-18 months… particularly with technology budgets shifting toward AI and away from people-led digital transformation projects.”
Soota, the 83-year old IT industry veteran, who previously founded Mindtree and is a former Wipro executive, owns about 44% stake in Happiest Minds Technologies directly and through investment companies. The promoter group stake was worth about Rs 2,500 crore on Thursday.
“One of the big four firms is currently carrying out a commercial due diligence and a report will be provided to interested bidders within weeks,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.
Another person said, “The discussions are at a very early stage and it may take weeks for it to proceed to the next step. At that stage, depending on the negotiations over valuations, any deal may or may not happen.”
In February, Soota had said at a post-earnings press conference – when asked about stake sale plans – that the company was focused on its artificial intelligence project and that he was “very much at the helm”. He did not respond to multiple queries sent by ET till press time. Happiest Minds Technologies, too, did not respond.
EQT and Partners Group also did not respond to queries sent on Tuesday.
An ITC Infotech spokesperson said in an emailed response, “We do not comment on market speculation”. ITC Infotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC.
“Mid-market IT services firms could see consolidation given some of the headwinds being faced by the outsourcing industry. In this backdrop, one could see larger rivals trying to buy smaller or equally sized players… and PE (private equity) firms also exploring these such acquisitions,” said an industry watcher, who did not wish to be identified.
In the past one year, Happiest Minds Technologies shares have fallen more than 40%, closing 3.2% down on Thursday at Rs 371.60 apiece on the BSE. The company had a market capitalisation of Rs 5,658 crore.
For the October-December 2025 quarter, the company reported a 10% year-on-year increase in its operating revenue to Rs 587 crore, while its net profit fell 20% to Rs 40 crore. CEO Joseph Ananthraju said the company aimed to double its artificial intelligence (AI) team size next year from 500. It has set a revenue target of $1 billion by 2030-31.
Following the rapid adoption of AI tools for software development and automation, software and IT services companies have seen sharp corrections in their valuations, making them increasingly attractive targets for private equity buyouts. ET reported on March 2 that private equity investors are accelerating control deals in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment, betting on an AI-led shakeout that is compressing valuations and creating a buyer’s market for profitable companies.
Over the past year, several mid-to-late stage SaaS firms have either seen majority stake acquisitions by private equity players or have moved toward internal consolidation to strengthen balance sheets and defend margins.
“There are several software deals in the market and private equity investors are actively evaluating them, but valuations are where incoming investors are pushing hard,” said an investment banker familiar with such transactions. “Right now, transactions are stalling where there isn’t enough clarity on how demand will evolve over the next 12-18 months… particularly with technology budgets shifting toward AI and away from people-led digital transformation projects.”
Next Story