Clayton, Dubilier & Rice announced an agreement under which its portfolio company Capco, a global management and technology consultancy, will be acquired by Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), a leading global information technology, consulting, and business process services company. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, is valued at $1.45 billion.
London-headquartered Capco provides digital, consulting, and technology services to financial institutions in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company has worked closely with key business and operational leaders in the banking, capital markets, wealth, asset management, and insurance sectors and is widely acknowledged for its domain and digital consulting expertise, risk, and regulatory offerings, and thought leadership around key industry technology challenges and opportunities. In addition, Capco services clients in the energy and commodities trading sector. Capco has an experienced executive team and over 5,000 business and technology consultants based across more than 30 global locations supporting clients through their expert insights, entrepreneurial approach, and focus on delivery excellence.
CD&R funds acquired a 60% stake in Capco in July 2017 in a partnership transaction with the seller, FIS, which retained a 40% ownership interest in the company. CD&R Operating Partner Russ Fradin, who previously served as CEO of SunGard Data Systems (sold to FIS in 2015), has served as Chairman of Capco since CD&R’s initial investment. Under CD&R’s ownership, Capco invested in organic and inorganic expansion opportunities and added capabilities to further accelerate growth, including in high-growth areas like digital consulting,
“We believe Capco is representative of our strategy in technology-related professional services, which tends to focus on businesses serving complex markets where we believe CD&R can bring operational and strategic experience,” said CD&R Partner Stephen Shapiro. “We would like to thank the entire Capco team, led by Lance Levy, for its significant effort in building a consulting organization with a dynamic culture and compelling service offering, and we wish them great success in the future.”
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as lead financial advisor, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP provided legal counsel to Capco. HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. also acted as financial advisor to Capco.