New Delhi: The Competition Commission said Friday it has cleared Baring Private Equity Asia's 30 per cent stake purchase in mid-sized IT services firm NIIT Technologies in a Rs 2,627-crore deal.The acquisition will trigger an open offer under which Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) will make an offer to public shareholders of NIIT Technologies for purchasing up to 26 per cent additional shareholding, taking the total deal value to up to Rs 4,890 crore.In a tweet, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it "approves acquisition of share capital of the NIIT Technologies Limited by Hulst B.V."Hulst B V is a company registered in the Netherlands.
It is indirectly owned and controlled by funds affiliated with BPEA, according to the notice submitted to the CCI.Earlier this month, the IT firm had said funds affiliated with BPEA have signed definitive agreements to buy about 18.85 million shares of the company from NIIT Ltd and other promoter entities at a price of Rs 1,394 per share.This includes about 14.4 million shares of NIIT Ltd, and about 4.3 million shares held by members of families of NIIT founders Rajendra Pawar and Vijay Thadani.NIIT Ltd holds about 23 per cent stake, while Pawar and Singh with their families hold around 7 per cent shares in NIIT Technologies.Deals beyond a certain threshold require clearance from the fair trade regulator.