Aspire Systems acquires Helion-backed digital engineering firm RapidValue

Aspire Systems, a Chennai-based information technology services company, has acquired Helion Ventures-backed digital engineering firm RapidValue. 

Both companies are private and did not disclose the value of the deal but Aspire said that it was buying out the entire Helion Ventures stake to become a majority shareholder in RapidValue.

Aspire chairman and CEO Gowri Shankar Subramanian told TechCircle that the acquisition will help his company add around 10-14% to the company's topline while also helping the company onboard senior executives who understand the domain.

Pleasanton, California based RapidValue, with around $10 million in annual revenue, will remain an independent entity post the acquisition. Aspire has around $100 million in revenues and is growing at an average growth rate of 20% every year. TechCircle estimates the acquisition value to be around $15-23 million based industry valuation for a software services firm based on annual sales.

Founded in 2008 by Rajesh Padinjaremadam, RapidValue helps companies in their digital product engineering as well as the implementation of mobile strategies. The company secured Rs 25 crore in funding from venture capital firm Helion Ventures in 2014.

“We are coming in at the right time as the company switches gears for the next phase of growth. With this acquisition, we will be able to take further steps towards our growth objective of doubling revenues in three years by gaining additional engineering strength, sales, and leadership capabilities. Both companies have a high-degree of focus on people and are operating at the leading edge of technology," Subramanian said in a statement.

RapidValue runs its operations from Bengaluru and Kochi, while Aspire has offices in Hyderabad and San Jose apart from its headquarters, where 2,000 of the company's 3,000 employees work. Aspire said that these two locations will add the company's capacity to hire and retain talent in these two cities as well.

Subramanian said that he had known Padinjaremadam for several years and had attempted to buy the firm in 2014 ahead of Helion investment but RapidValue chose to stay independent then. However, Aspire will be able to cross-sell its solutions to several of the RapidValue's Fortune 500 companies, he added.

"This will help us in scaling our services to a global footprint and offering transformative digital engineering solutions in the marketplace. This partnership will help us grow faster while leveraging Aspire’s capabilities and cross-selling their services to our customers,” Padinjaremadam said.