ITC Infotech to Acquire Happiest Minds Stake

ITC Infotech, a subsidiary of ITC, is in advanced discussions to acquire a controlling stake in Happiest Minds Technologies from its founder, Ashok Soota. The proposed transaction is valued at ₹2,800-2,900 crore and includes Soota's 44% stake. This acquisition is expected to trigger a mandatory open offer, through which ITC Infotech will aim to purchase an additional 26% of Happiest Minds' shares from public shareholders.

Following the completion of the deal, ITC Infotech is anticipated to reverse-merge into Happiest Minds, thereby making the group's technology services arm a listed entity. This strategic move comes at a time when the mid-market IT services sector is facing increased pressure from slower discretionary spending and the impact of artificial intelligence, leading to expectations of further consolidation.

Ashok Soota, a veteran of the IT industry, founded Happiest Minds in 2011 after a distinguished career, including co-founding Mindtree and serving at Wipro. Happiest Minds, which went public in September 2020 with a highly successful IPO, saw its shares debut at a significant premium. The current market capitalization of Happiest Minds was ₹6,214.34 crore as of Friday's trading close.