Private equity, Enterprise, Content

Private Equity and IT Consulting: Goldman Sachs, Everstone Invest in Infostretch

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Everstone Group are acquiring a “significant” stake in Infostretch, an IT consulting firm that specializes in various digital transformation, cloud and software development services.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Also, Goldman Sachs and Everstone did not mention whether the deal involved a majority or minority stake in Infostretch.

Infostretch, based in Santa Claria, California, says it will use the funding for organic growth coupled with acquisition activities -- though specific M&A targets were not disclosed.

Goldman Sachs, Everstone Invest in Infostretch: Company Background

Infostretch's current team spans 1,200+ global engineers who have cloud, data, IoT, mobile and UI/UX expertise. Those engineers work across the "entire software development lifecycle, from strategy through execution and operations, helping companies overcome the biggest technical obstacles in their digital efforts," the company says.

Key Infostretch partnerships include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Adobe, Atlassian, CloudBees, Tricentis, Perfecto, Qmetry, SauceLabs, Applitools, ServiceBot, VenueNext and Headspin.

Infostretch's customer base spanned 50 organizations, half of which are Fortune 500 companies as of June 2020. The company's intellectual property includes the ASTUTE AI Testing Suite, a bot platform that empowers enterprises to launch digital transformation initiatives in a matter of weeks, as opposed to months, while reducing test efforts by at least 35 percent, Infostretch asserts.

Goldman Sachs, Everstone Invest in Infostretch: Executive Perspectives

Avnish Mehra, senior managing director, Everstone
Avnish Mehra, senior managing director, Everstone
Rutesh Shah, president and CEO Infostretch

In a prepared statement about the private equity funding, Rutesh Shah, CEO and co-founder of Infostretch, said:

“We’re very pleased to partner with Goldman Sachs and Everstone Group to continue our aggressive growth and expansion. The expertise and reputation we have built over the last fifteen years has put us in the position to advance the digital initiatives of some of the world’s leading companies and brands. This investment will enable us to build on those strengths and take advantage of the growing need for more innovative digital solutions in verticals like healthcare, financial services and technology.”

Added Harsh Nanda, a managing director in the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division:

“We saw an opportunity to invest in a company that has demonstrated an ability to help organizations clearly distinguish themselves via the latest digital technologies. Infostretch has built an impressive brand and list of loyal clients in healthcare, financial services and high tech. Their global presence and ability to apply the latest capabilities in areas like AI and analytics with best practices in Agile and DevOps set them apart in the digital engineering space.”

Concluded Avnish Mehra, senior managing director at Everstone Group:

“Digital will be the core differentiator for businesses of all sizes in almost every segment over the next five to ten years. With its expertise in emerging technologies and the ability to incorporate intelligent automation across the development lifecycle, we think Infostretch is well positioned to be one of the premier digital engineering service providers in the market.”

Goldman Sachs, Everstone: More Info

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (MBD) is the primary center for the firm’s long-term principal investing activity. MBD has investments across private equity, infrastructure, private debt, growth equity and real estate. Noteworthy investments include data protection and cybersecurity specialist Acronis, and a restaurant-focused MSP named Restaurant Technologies Inc.

Everstone focuses on cross border North America-Asia investments as well as domestic investments in India and South East Asia. The group has assets in excess of US$5 billion across private equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.