Genpact to buy VentureEast-backed Atyati Technologies

Business process outsourcing major Genpact Ltd has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Atyati Technologies, a technology platform provider for the rural banking sector in India, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in 3-4 weeks.

VenturEast had invested $2.5 million in Atyati in August 2008 and would exit the firm with the acquisition by Genpact.

Founded in 2006 by ex-Oracle Financial Services managers, Atyati is a Bangalore-based company that offers a technology platform to provide banking services to the rural population. Its Ganaseva solution is a mobility-based platform designed to deliver the complete suite of banking services, including an automated and secure banking platform with smart card and biometrics-based authentication capabilities. Atyati hosts the solution on private Cloud and the service is charged on a pay-per-transaction or pay-per-village model.

This acquisition will provide Genpact with a technology platform in the rural banking space with last-mile functionality that allows Indian banks to tap into the millions who reside in rural areas.

Atyati's platform reportedly serves 3 million end customers in 7,300 villages, with a targeted expansion to 9.8 million end customers in more than 16,000 villages by 2013. Post-acquisition, its team of 60 employees will join Genpact and the promoter Prakash Prabhu will continue leading the unit.

P2P Consultants and Nishith Desai & Associates were the financial and legal advisors for Atyati while Genpact was advised by Deloitte, PWC and AZB & Partners.

"This is a very strategic acquisition for three reasons. First, it adds a platform-based solution for a highly underpenetrated and large market. Second, we also add several marquee Indian banks and clients to our portfolio with the ability to cross-sell multiple Genpact products and services. Third, it leverages all latest cutting-edge technologies around mobility and biometrics that make it highly scalable and able to be taken to the global markets, including the micro-finance institutions (MFIs)," said Tiger Tyagarajan, president and CEO of Genpact.

For Genpact, this is the second deal in 2012 and the fourth under the new chief executive. NYSE-listed outsourcing firm Genpact had seen a change of guards early last year with Pramod Bhasin stepping down as CEO and giving the reins to NV 'Tiger' Tyagarajan.

Over the past one year, Genpact has made around half a dozen acquisitions, including Headstrong Corporation for a cash consideration of $550 million, among others. The company had also taken over California-based Cloud company Akritiv Technologies for an undisclosed amount, High Performance Partners, LLC (HPP) and its Quantum Mortgage Technology, and US-based media and business research firm EmPower Research. Most recently, it struck a deal to acquire Accounting Plaza, a European provider of finance & accounting (F&A) and human resources (HR) services, besides PeopleSoft ERP services.