Bangalore, Dec 20 : Infotech major Wipro Ltd on Wednesday announced that it has acquired a 45 per cent stake in the Internet service provider Wipro Net Ltd, from Dutch telecommunications operator KPN Telecom at Rs 108.8 crore ($23.25 million).Wipro Net Ltd was a joint venture between Wipro Ltd and KPN Telecom, formed to address the emerging Internet services market. Wipro Net also focuses on the retail ISP services market under the `Net Kracker' brand name.
Subsequent to the acquisition of the stake from KPN Telecom, the company is planning to spin off the retail ISP portion of the company into a separate entity under the name Net Kracker Ltd. The retail ISP arm currently has close to 35,000 users across 14 cities and was launched four months ago.
In line with the spin-off of Netkracker, Wipro Ltd and ICICI Venture Fund Management Company Ltd have entered into an agreement to provide for Rs 30 crore of investment for a 51 per cent equity interest in NetKracker Ltd by ICICI Venture.
Wipro will retain the rest 49 per cent of the equity, along with convertible preference shares of Rs 5.4 crore in the newly spun-off company. The enterprise value based on the investment by ICICI Venture is Rs 150 crore. Following the spin off, the restructured Wipro Net Ltd will focus its service offerings in addressing the corporate B2B space.
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