Bangalore Correspondent

Oracle increases stake in India’s I-Flex

news
Sep 13, 20062 mins

Already a majority shareholder, company wants another 20 percent

Oracle Corp. intends to acquire another 20 percent of the equity of Indian financial software company I-Flex Solutions Ltd.

Oracle informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai on Wednesday of its intention. Oracle has offered to buy 16.63 million equity shares in I-Flex for Indian Rupees 1,475.00 (US$32) per share. The deal will total about $531 million if I-Flex shareholders accept the offer, which opens Nov. 6 and closes Nov. 25.

Oracle of Redwood Shores, California, already holds a majority stake in I-Flex, based in Mumbai. The company announced last month that it would invest $125 million in I-Flex to increase its stake from 52.5 percent to 55.1 percent. The investment would help I-Flex fund its $122.6 million cash acquisition of Mantas Inc., a vendor of anti-money laundering and compliance software and services in Herndon, Virginia, I-Flex said. Oracle had said in August that it intended to increase its stake in I-Flex to meet Indian regulations regarding the acquisition of shares and takeovers.

A number of multinational companies that have bought stakes in Indian companies, have then bought out joint venture partners or minority shareholders.

In 2003, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) bought out the public share holding in Digital GlobalSoft Ltd., a software development and services subsidiary in Bangalore in which it had a majority holding. HP said at the time that it did not want a listed subsidiary in India because then it would be accountable to two sets of shareholders — HP’s and Digital GlobalSoft’s.

IBM Corp. also bought out its joint venture partner, the Tata Group, to run its Indian operation as a wholly owned subsidiary. Oracle has, however, stated that it would like to retain the independence of the management and operations of I-Flex.