Partners Group is taking a controlling stake in Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) from Argan Mauritius and TA Associates, in a deal that values the Indian fibre-optic broadband provider at $1.2bn (€1bn).

Partners Group, which has been a joint investor in ACT since 2016, said it has agreed to take ownership of the firm with TA Associates owning a minority stake in ACT.

Headquartered in Bangalore ACT serves around 2m wired broadband subscribers across 19 cities in India and has one of the largest fibre networks in the country

Manas Tandon, managing director, private equity, Partners Group, said: “ACT is on the frontline of digitisation in India, providing fast, reliable broadband to millions of homes in the country. The company is an excellent opportunity for us to support the transformation of a growing business through expansion into new markets and development of new product offerings.

”As existing investors, we have followed ACT’s journey for several years and have been impressed with Bala and his team’s strategic vision, and their commitment to customer satisfaction, which converges with our focus on operational excellence.”

Bala Malladi, CEO of Atria Convergence Technologies, said: “Partners Group has been an integral part of the company’s growth journey for several years and is a great believer and supporter of our core values.

“The firm’s experience working with global technology companies and its expertise in supporting multi-dimensional growth will be very valuable.”

Vageesh Gupta, member of management at Partners Group, said: “Data consumption in India is booming yet our thematic research shows the wired broadband market is supply constrained with the country continuing to have amongst the lowest fibre-to-the-home penetration in the world.

“We are delighted that Bala and his team have chosen to partner with us as we work together to implement a value creation plan that will focus on expanding ACT’s share in new geographies and customer segments.”

ACT is Partners Group’s third investment in the telecom space this year after Unity Digital, a telecom tower platform in the Philippines, and Eolo, Italy’s fixed wireless access broadband provider.

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