Ever since that marital split between CEO Ambiga Subramanian and founder Dhiraj Rajaram happened, Mu Sigma has had a topsy-turvy ride. The company has, since then, been looking to restructure and reports of massive traction from global investors, who were all looking to snag a significant minority stake had surfaced the web.
But now a fresh report from LiveMint states that founder and chairman Rajaram is planning to buy out the complete 48 percent shares owned by his former wife Ambiga Subramanian and PE firm General Atlantic. He may also be backed by a couple of sovereign funds, say sources familiar with the ongoing deal.
In addition to Rajaram, Singapore’s GIC Pvt. Ltd and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Bhd also have a vested intersest in India’s one of the earliest unicorns. Involvement of Singapore government’s investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd. is testimony to the fact that there is still a good amount of global traction surrounding the company.
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This report, however, doesn’t list any of the potential heavy-weight bidders, Blackstone, Bain Capital, CVC Capital and Warburg Pincus that had appeared in the previous report. But, the sources have expressed their concern over the deal falling out due to difference over valuation.
Rajaram is valuing the enterprise at $800 million while Subramanian and General Atlantic expect a valuation of $1-1.2 billion,
said the source aware of the deal-in-the-making.
There has recently been an air of uncertainity about the future ownership and management of the company, where the divorced couple own a 24 per cent stake each. Ambiga Subramanian, who was the first lady CEO of an Indian unicorn, is currently filling in the same role. But, there have been speculations that she, after selling majority of her stake in the company, will step down from her role as the chief executive.
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Mu Sigma, as reported previously, has mandated investment banks — Credit Suisse and Citigroup — to reach out to potential global pension funds, private equity and sovereign wealth funds seeking their preliminary interest in the opportunity.
Founded in 2004, Mu Sigma is a big data analytics firm that helps companies institutionalize data-driven decision making. It is headquartered in Chicago with substantial operations in Bengaluru. It has raised a total of $178 million in equity funding in three rounds from General Atlantic, MasterCard, and Sequoia Capital. And it is important to notice that Sequoia is putting a foot down and not planning to sell any shares it holds.
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