Cargill to invest $4.5 mn in KPIT

KPIT Cummins Infosystems, a global IT consulting organisation, announced on Tuesday a definitive agreement with Cargill Ventures to issue shares of $4.5 million on a preferential basis, in addition to warrants convertible into shares of up to $4.5 million. 
 
KPIT Cummins will issue shares on a preferential basis to Cargill Ventures at a price determined in accordance to the Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines for preferential allotment of shares. 
 
The warrants, also issued in accordance with Sebi guidelines, will be convertible into shares at the end of 18 months from the date of issue-based on certain parameters. 
 
Cargill Ventures is a venture capital arm of Cargill Inc, a privately held company with operations in 63 countries and revenues of over $75 billion. Cargill Ventures is a diversified growth-capital investor across the IT, life sciences and IT sectors. 
 
Commenting on the investment transaction, Ravi Pandit, chairman and group CEO, KPIT Cummins, said, "In addition to bringing in the funds, Cargill Ventures brings significant value to KPIT Cummins, which we hope to use for our M&A initiatives. Cargill Ventures also brings its expertise in the technology domain. This relationship is expected to strengthen our foundation for future growth." 
 
Deepak Malik, managing director, Cargill Ventures said, "We have been engaged in discussions with the management team of KPIT Cummins for some time now. We are quite impressed with the vision of the management team and their capability to lead the company forward into the future. We are happy to be strategic investors in KPIT Cummins."