Private equity firms ChrysCapital and True North Managers LLP along with other institutional investors have picked up a minority stake in product engineering and lifecycle services company QuEST Global for $150 million, per an announcement.
The investors have completed the purchase of a portion of the shares held by the co-founders and management team of QuEST. Existing investors Bain Capital, Advent, and GIC continue to remain invested, the company said in a statement.
“As the industrial world bounces back into pre-pandemic days, enterprises would need help from companies like QuEST to bridge the gap between the industrial and the digital world and rebuild the lost traction. “Our focus will be to develop capabilities in hi-tech, software, and digital segments along with other industries and help our customers solve their engineering challenges,” said Ajit Prabhu, chairman & CEO, QuEST Global.
Singapore-based QuEST provides product engineering and lifecycle services to companies in sectors including aerospace and defence, automotive, hi-tech, medical devices, rail, and semiconductors. The company boasts of a presence in 13 countries, 54 global delivery centres, and a workforce of over 11,250.
“ChrysCapital has a strong track record of over 20 investments in the Technology Services sector, which has been an integral part of our portfolio across funds,” said Sudip Nandy, Sr. Advisor, ChrysCapital.
“QuEST is one of the top five players in the pure-play ER&D [Engineering R&D] space and has built unique and deep expertise in an industry that is undergoing unprecedented digital disruption. We believe the ER&D space will continue to see significant growth and innovation in the years ahead,” added Prasad Thrikutam, partner, True North.
QuEST had raised $6 million from Carlyle growth fund in 2003. In 2016, Bain Capital, GIC, and Advent had pumped in $350 million for a minority stake in the company.
O3 Capital acted as the sole financial advisor for the latest transaction.