Midcap IT and software services provider Persistent Systems is in discussions to acquire a controlling stake in NSEIT, the wholly owned IT services arm of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), sources aware of the talks have told Moneycontrol.
Established in 1999, NSEIT provides digital examination and edtech solutions, cybersecurity, RPA, testing, cloud services and large infrastructure management services to clients in the banking, insurance and capital market sectors.
The company clocked revenue of Rs 272.4 crore in 2021, as per its regulatory filings. Queries emailed to Persistent Systems and NSE remained unanswered till the time of publishing this report.
Exiting non-core business
The proposed sale of the IT division by the NSE came after a committee appointed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to strengthen governance at stock exchanges and other market infrastructure institutions came out with a string of suggestions.
The committee, headed by G Mahalingam, a former whole-time SEBI member, recommended several steps, including exiting non-core businesses by the NSE, the country’s largest stock exchange.
Subsequently, early this year, the NSE management said it had begun the process to de-clutter management bandwidth from non-core business in line with the recommendations of the Mahalingam Committee report.
“This process is expected to complete in due course of time and in line with this the education business and technology business of NSE Group, as required under the Accounting and Disclosures Framework, have been classified as discontinuing operations and assets held for sale,” NSE MD and CEO Ashish Chauhan said in May.
Set up in 1990 in Pune, Persistent Systems has evolved into a prominent player in the midcap IT space. Over the years, it has executed several acquisitions in India and abroad.
In 2022, it acquired the US-based MediaAgility for around $72 million. In the second quarter of 2023-24, Persistent Systems recorded revenue of Rs 2,449 crore, up 17.72 percent from the year-ago period.
The company has surpassed industry growth for 14 consecutive quarters, credited to its robust positioning as a global engineering leader and its capabilities in enterprise modernisation in key verticals such as hi-tech, emerging industries, BFSI and healthcare, among others.
On December 7, Persistent Systems closed at Rs 6,290 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.72 percent from the previous day.
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