Zensar Technologies Limited (BSE:504067) is in talks to acquire an 18%-20% stake from promoters of Mastek Limited (NSEI:MASTEK), three people familiar with the matter told Mint. The proposed transaction is expected to be valued at over $200 million and could go up to $400 million, though discussions are ongoing and no deal has been finalized, the people added. The promoter stake sale in Mastek, which has been in the works for some time, is contingent on both sides agreeing on the company's enterprise valuation, one of the people quoted above said.
"The promoters have been wanting to sell for a while now, but, as per their current expectations, the deal could value the company at almost double its current market capitalisation," the person added. The people quoted above also told Mint that potential buyers such as private equity firm ChrysCapital and Pune-based IT services firm Persistent Systems Ltd. had evaluated the deal earlier. "Persistent even reached the exclusivity stage, but all these deals fell through due to the company's high valuation expectations," the first person added.
Consulting firm EY is advising Zensar on the deal, the people quoted above said. Emails sent to Zensar Technologies, Mastek, Persistent Systems, EY and ChrysCapital went unanswered until press time.
