Infosys announces $1 million divestment of stake in ANSR Consulting
Having acquired a minority stake in ANSR consulting in 2015 as part its Innovation Fund, technology consultancy Infosys has now divested its 5% stake in the company, valued at nearly $1.5 million. The stake has allegedly been bought back by the funders of ASNR, Accel Partners.
Technology consulting firm Infosys, alongside a number of other Indian tech firms, has been on an innovation drive in recent years, most logically attributable to the advent of digital disruptors across markets in India and abroad. Since 2012, the firm has been the second largest investor in technology, having invested in 10 companies during this period.
Among the efforts has been the establishment of an Innovation Fund for the sole purpose of backing new firms that have developed novel technological models. One of the resultant ventures has been a partnership with Indian startup Tonetag, to develop a method of conducting financial transactions using sound waves, with a target customer base of 800 million people.
Another venture under the fund was the acquisition of a 5% stake in ANSR Consulting back in 2015 for $1.4 million. At its core, ANSR specialises in the establishment and development of Global In-house Centres (GICs), also known as Captive Centres, wherein it assists firms with leveraging their global talent assets to build strategic capacity and advance competitiveness.
The firm was established in 2004, funded by venture capitalist firm Accel Partners. Since then, ANSR has established 27 GICs, having transitioned over 40,000 full-time positions and invested $1 billion in capital investments. The firm has also leased over 4 million square feet of office space.
Infosys, which has recently come into new leadership under Salil Parekh, has now decided to divest its stake in the firm. The agreement for the divestment has been signed, and the stake, valued at $1 million, has allegedly been reacquired by Accel Partners itself. Reasons for the divestment have not been disclosed.
