NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will acquire 100% of Ness Digital Engineering (“Ness” or the “Company”), a global full-lifecycle digital services transformation company, from The Rohatyn Group (“TRG”).
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Ness is a leading provider of end-to-end digital transformation services that specializes in building digital software products and platforms. Ness helps organizations envision, build, and continually evolve their digital platforms to enter new markets, capture new revenue, and gain operational efficiencies. The Company offers a wide range of digital practices that include cloud engineering, data and analytics, experience design, intelligence engineering, and salesforce for businesses across sectors. Today, Ness has a presence in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with a globally diversified talent pool across India, Eastern Europe, and the United States.
Gaurav Trehan, Partner and CEO of KKR India, said, “Digital transformation and adoption is a critical strategy for businesses of all sizes worldwide. Against this backdrop, KKR believes that Ness is well-positioned for growth, supported by its exceptional, experience-led product engineering heritage. KKR is pleased to invest in Ness’ capabilities and looks forward to working alongside its talented team to further scale Ness’ digital-first platform, achieve its global ambitions, and better enable its customers to compete in the digital economy.”
Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness, said, “We are thrilled to welcome an investor of KKR’s caliber in Ness. We believe this transaction will help us turbocharge our growth plans and further strengthen our competitive market position. We look forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform and strong investment and operational expertise to deliver more innovative solutions to help our customers keep up with the pace of digitalization required by the accelerated online economy. I want to thank TRG for their consistent stewardship throughout the years. They have been great strategic partners to the management team and helped us to execute our growth strategy.”
Nicolas Rohatyn, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of The Rohatyn Group, said, “We are proud to have tapped into TRG’s technology services expertise and extensive global experience to help Ness become a unique, global leader in the digital space. We wish the Company the best in its next chapter.” Tom Kucera, Managing Director at TRG, added “I am grateful to Ranjit, the management team and Ness’ more than 4,000 employees for their partnership, dedication and support over the years. It has been a privilege working closely with them to build Ness into a premier digital transformation platform and I wish them continued success.”
Ness adds to KKR’s global portfolio of technology investments, which includes, but is not limited to, Cloudera, a leading provider of enterprise-grade, hybrid data management software in the United States; Yayoi, a software developer, distributor, and support service provider for small-and-medium-sized enterprises in Japan; Probe CX, a provider of outsourced customer experience and business process outsourcing solutions in Australia; MYOB, a leading Australian online business management company; and Jio, a next-generation technology platform that provides digital services across India.
KKR makes its investment from its Asian Fund IV. Additional terms of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, were not disclosed.
About Ness Digital Engineering
Ness is a full lifecycle digital engineering firm offering digital advisory through scaled engineering services. Combining our core competence in engineering with the latest in digital strategy and technology, we seamlessly manage Digital Transformation journeys from strategy through execution to help businesses thrive in the digital economy. As your tech partner, we help engineer your company’s future with cloud and data. For more information, visit ness.com.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
About TRG
Founded in 2002, The Rohatyn Group is an asset management firm focused on emerging markets and real assets, headquartered in New York, with a global presence in 16 cities across the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. For more information, please visit www.rohatyngroup.com.
Contacts
Media
For KKR:
KKR Asia Pacific
Wei Jun Ong
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com
For Ness:
Vivek Kangath
+91 97425 65583
Vivek.Kangath@ness.com
For TRG:
Julia-Ambra Verlaine
+1 212 984 3539
Julia.Verlaine@rohatyngroup.com
KKR Americas
Julia Kosygina and Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
+1 212 750 8300
Media@kkr.com
AdFactors (for KKR India)
George Smith Alexander
+91 98213 56867
George.Smith@adfactorspr.com