EQT moves to list BPO firm Straive, raise $400 million

Mumbai: Swedish investment firm EQT Partners is looking to raise about $400 million (₹3,800 crore) by listing its outsourcing platform, Straive, on the Indian bourses by early next year, said people familiar with the matter.

The proposed initial public offering (IPO) will be entirely an offer for sale, and it is expected to value the India-focused platform at about $2.5 billion (₹24,000 crore), the people said.

EQT is likely to offload a 15-20% stake in the offering, the people said, adding a draft prospectus is likely to be filed with capital market regulator Sebi in September. Axis Capital, Bank of America, IIFL Capital, and Goldman Sachs have been appointed as the book-running lead managers for the issue, the people said.

Founded in 1980, Singapore-headquartered Straive provides data analytics and AI-led solutions to global enterprises, including several Fortune 500 companies. It has operations across 16 locations in India.

ET was the first to report last year that Straive was evaluating an IPO. In 2021, EQT Partners acquired Straive, then known as SPi Global, from Swiss private equity firm Partners Group at $800 million to $1 billion valuation.

Straive serves clients in banking and financial services, GCC, retail and CPG, media, sports and entertainment, edtech, science and research, logistics and supply chain, education, and pharmaceutical and life sciences, through delivery teams spanning the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. A spokesperson for EQT declined to comment.

EQT had in 2024 listed its Indian healthcare-focused BPM (Business Process Management) company Sagility at ₹31.06 per share, a 3.5% premium to its IPO issue price of ₹30. The stock is currently trading at around ₹41, giving it a market capitalisation of about ₹18,996 crore.Major competitors of Straive in data and AI services/analytics include Fractal Analytics, Tredence and EXL, according to Tracxn.