Indian private equity firm ChrysCapital said Thursday it has acquired a 75% stake in ProHance Analytics, marking its first investment in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
The founders and senior leadership of ProHance will remain with the company after the acquisition, ChrysCapital said in a statement.
The PE firm didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal. However, according to a person familiar with the matter, ChrysCapital likely invested over Rs 400 crore to buy the stake.
ProHance was founded in 2009 by Kishore Reddy and Rajesh Sharma. It provides a workforce analytics and operations management platform to small and midsize businesses.
“Platforms like ProHance play a pivotal role in a hybrid workplace, seamlessly connecting and empowering teams to collaborate efficiently regardless of physical location,” said Sanjay Jalona, operating partner at ChrysCapital.
ChrysCapital said this is its first acquisition in the $12 billion Indian SaaS industry and comes at a time when the local industry is poised to increase its share of the global market to 8% by 2027 from about 5% currently.
“We see tremendous potential in ‘India for Global SaaS’ given the large developer talent pool and higher adoption of cloud in global enterprises,” said Rishabh Iyer, vice president at ChrysCapital.
With the backing of ChrysCapital, ProHance plans to expand into the Philippines, Australia, and South America. “Partnering with ChrysCapital will empower us to accelerate our global expansion efforts and align seamlessly with our vision of becoming a market leader,” said Ankur Dhingra, chief executive officer of ProHance.
While ProHance is ChrysCapital’s first SaaS investment, the PE firm has bet on several enterprise technology companies previously. It has invested and exited tech companies such as Mphasis, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Hexaware, LiquidHub, Cyient, L&T Infotech, KPIT Technologies and Infogain. Its current portfolio of enterprise technology companies includes US-based firms Xoriant, GeBBS Healthcare Solutions, ResultsCX and Quest Global, according to its website.
Founded in 1999, ChrysCapital is one of India’s oldest PE firms. Besides technology services, it also invests in financial services, healthcare and consumer companies. It has raised over $5 billion across nine funds and has made around 100 investments across sectors. It has realized $6.5 billion from over 75 exits in India.
The firm closed its ninth fund last year, raising $1.4 billion. It has made at least four other investments so far this year. These are software engineering and digital IT services provider Xoriant, eyewear retailer Lenskart, education lender Credila and manufacturing company GMM Pfaudler Ltd.
