News

HCL Technology and Sumeru Equity Partners have agreed to buy Actian Corp for $330 million. HCL will own 80 percent while Sumeru Equity will have about 20 percent of the joint venture that owns the company. Actian, of Palo Alto, California, provides data management, analytics and integration services. Adam Phillips lead the Kirkland & Ellis team that represented Sumeru Equity.

PRESS RELEASE
Noida, India, and Palo Alto, Calif. – April 12, 2018 – HCL Technologies (HCL) and Sumeru Equity Partners (SEP), a technology and growth-focused private equity firm, have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Actian Corporation. The all-cash deal is valued at US$330 million. HCL will own 80 percent while SEP will own approximately 20 percent stake of the JV entity which inturn will own 100% shareholding of Actian Corporation.
Palo Alto-based Actian-a leader in hybrid data management, cloud integration, and analytics solutions-powers insight-driven enterprises around the globe to help them solve the toughest data challenges. It owns market-leading products such as Actian Vector, the world’s fastest columnar database; Actian DataConnect, a hybrid cloud data integration platform; and Actian X, hybrid database for next generation operational analytics. This acquisition will add cutting-edge intellectual property to HCL’s capabilities to enable global enterprises’ digital transformation journey.
Commenting on the acquisition, C Vijayakumar, President and CEO, HCL Technologies, said, ‘Actian will play a critical role in enhancing HCL’s Mode 3 offerings in data management products and platforms. Actian’s products when combined with HCL’s Mode 2 solution offerings – Cloud Native, Digital and Analytics, and IoT WoRKSTM, will be a powerful proposition to harness the power of hybrid data.’
He further added, ‘Recent customer wins by Actian validate the potential of its offerings to help customers extract maximum business value out of data. I am delighted to welcome Actian’s employees, partners, and customers to the HCL Technologies ecosystem.’
George Kadifa, SEP Managing Director, said: ‘We see an attractive market growth opportunity for data-centric companies, which is why SEP chose to partner with HCL Technologies in acquiring Actian – a company that leads with product innovation and a customer-focused approach. Actian and HCL’s shared vision, expertise, and global reach will enable businesses to fully realize the value of their hybrid data. We look forward to collaborating with the leadership of Actian and HCL on this growth journey to empower enterprise and public sector organizations for the next phase of their digital transformation.’
Actian will continue to operate as a separate entity within the HCL Technologies ecosystem, led by current CEO and President, Rohit De Souza. ‘The age of hybrid data and its management is upon us, and Actian is at the forefront. The most successful business leaders today recognize data as their most valuable asset and strive to leverage it at the speed of their business, no matter where it resides,’ De Souza said. ‘The combined force of HCL’s next-generation products, platforms, and services; SEP’s experience in scaling enterprise software businesses; and Actian’s tradition of innovation in data management, data analytics, and integration technologies will enable customers to tap into the disruptive potential of their data and deliver tangible business results.’
‘After working over the last decade to scale up Actian into one of the leading hybrid data management platforms, we’re pleased that the Company is being acquired by HCL and SEP to take it to the next level of growth and continue to service and expand our worldwide customer base,’ said Terence J. Garnett, co-founder and Managing Director, Garnett Helfrich Capital which is currently the majority owner of Actian Corporation.
HCL Technologies as the majority stakeholder of this strategic acquisition will have majority representation on the Actian board of directors, and SEP managing directors George Kadifa and Sanjeet Mitra will also join the board at closing.
About HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies (HCL) is a leading global technology company that helps forward looking enterprises re-imagine and transform their businesses. HCL operates out of 32 countries and has consolidated revenues of US$ 7.6 billion, for 12 Months ended 31st December 2017. HCL focuses on providing an integrated portfolio of products, solutions and services underlined by its Mode 1-2-3 growth strategy. Mode 1 encompasses the core services in the areas of Applications, Infrastructure, BPO and Engineering & R&D services, leveraging DRYiCETM Autonomics to transform clients’ business and IT landscape, making them ‘lean’ and ‘agile’. Mode 2 focuses on experience-centric and outcome-oriented integrated offerings of Digital & Analytics, IoT WoRKS™, Cloud Native Services and Cybersecurity & GRC services to drive business outcomes and enable enterprise digitalization. Mode 3 strategy is ecosystem-driven, creating innovative IP-partnerships and Organic IP to build products and platforms business. HCL leverages its global network of integrated co-innovation labs and global delivery capabilities to provide holistic multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Media, Publishing, Entertainment, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Energy & Utilities, Travel, Transportation & Logistics and Government. With 119,291 professionals from diverse nationalities, HCL focuses on creating real value for customers by taking ‘Relationships Beyond the Contract’. For more information, please visit HCL Technologies
About Sumeru Equity Partners
Sumeru Equity Partners is a technology-focused private equity firm that invests in market leading companies across software, technology-enabled services and hardware. The firm was founded in 2014 by an experienced team from Silver Lake Sumeru, a private equity fund started in 2007 within Silver Lake. Sumeru Equity Partners utilizes its extensive operating and investment experience in partnership with management teams to drive growth and build strategic value. For more information, please visit http://www.sumeruequity.com.
About Actian – Activate your Data™
Actian, the hybrid data management, analytics and integration company, delivers data as a competitive advantage to thousands of customers worldwide. Through the deployment of innovative hybrid data technologies and solutions Actian ensures that business critical systems can transact and integrate at their very best – on premises, in the cloud or both. Thousands of forward-thinking organizations around the globe trust Actian to help them solve the toughest data challenges to transform how they run their businesses, today and in the future. For more, visit https://www.actian.com.
‘Actian’ and ‘Activate your Data’ are trademarks of Actian Corporation and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.
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