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Here is an important development. NIIT Ltd plans to sell a 25 per cent stake in its IT company NIIT Technologies to a strategic investor, reports The Economic Times. NIIT owns 40 per cent stake in NIIT Technologies. The sale would trigger an open offer for 20 per cent, which means the buyer will gain management control of the company.

ET quotes NIIT Technologies CEO Arvind Thakur as saying: “Our position has been that the promoters will dilute 25 per cent out of the nearly 40 per cent stake held by them to a strategic investor. This will naturally lead to an open offer. However, at this point of time, we are not in discussions with any investors."

The company has apparently initiated discussions with investment bankers for exploring sale to a global IT company. In the past, companies like i-Flex and Mphasis have sold out to global biggies Oracle Corp and EDS respectively. Now the names of companies like Patni Computers and Polaris are also heard as candidates for selling out.

NIIT Technologies has a market cap of Rs 1,600 crore ($400 million). It services customers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia and has presence in verticals such as banking, financial services and insurance, travel & transportation and retail & manufacturing. It employs more than 4,500 people.