For $130 million (about ₹1,200 crore), Goldman Sachs purchased the majority of PeopleStrong, an HR software-as-a-service (SaaS) company located in Gurgaon, according to the media reports. In the transaction, Goldman Sachs acquired a share of the employee stock option (Esop) pool and Multiples PE’s 84% ownership of PeopleStrong.
Following a comparable private equity purchase earlier this year in which Everstone Capital paid over $200 million to acquire Wingify, this acquisition represents a major step forward in the HR SaaS market. Established by Pankaj Bansal in 2005, PeopleStrong provides services to more than 500 businesses in the Middle East, Australia, Southeast Asia, and India.
The business turned a profit with a net profit of ₹57 crore in FY24, up from a net loss of ₹84 crore the year before. Its total revenues were ₹274.5 crore, which was marginally higher than ₹271.7 crore in FY23.
Sandeep Chaudhary, the CEO of PeopleStrong, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration and pointed to Goldman Sachs’ worldwide SaaS and AI experience as a major driver of the business’s upcoming expansion.
The purchase represents a major shift in India’s HR IT market.
This agreement, which has been valued at over $130 million in some media reports, emphasizes PeopleStrong’s strong market position as one of the few EBITDA-positive companies in the HR technology industry, as well as its operational capabilities and future development potential.
PeopleStrong is well-known for its AI-powered human capital management platform, which incorporates essential features including talent management, payroll processing, application monitoring, and employee experience management. The firm today serves more than two million individual users, processes more than 1.5 million paychecks every month, and has a growing clientele that includes large corporations in industries including banking, retail, healthcare, and aviation.
It is anticipated that the strategic investment would support PeopleStrong’s next stage of growth, which aims to reach 10 million users worldwide in the next five years. An emphasis on AI-led product innovation and increased market penetration, both locally and in developing foreign markets like the GCC area, are the driving forces behind this growth strategy.
The agreement with Goldman Sachs Alternatives is more than simply a financial investment for PeopleStrong; it is a collaboration that takes use of Goldman Sachs’ extensive knowledge of SaaS and international market conditions. Sandeep Chaudhary, the CEO of PeopleStrong, has stated that the partnership aims to advance technical innovation and operational excellence, guaranteeing that the business not only keeps its competitive advantage in the HR SaaS market but also grows sustainably.
In addition, this decision strengthens Goldman Sachs’ strategic focus on high-growth technology industries and the digitalization of business human resources services, both of which have been gaining a lot of traction in the worldwide market.
Multiples PE formerly owned a sizeable portion of PeopleStrong and had fostered the company’s expansion throughout time. The move to make Goldman Sachs Alternatives a majority partner shows faith in PeopleStrong’s business plan and prospects in the quickly changing HR technology sector. As investors place a greater emphasis on scalable, tech-driven platforms that offer sustainability and strong returns, this purchase also fits into a larger trend of private equity investments in SaaS businesses.
In the long run, this purchase positions PeopleStrong as a leader in the fiercely competitive HR technology sector by enabling it to accelerate innovation and enter new markets. PeopleStrong is well-positioned to use cutting-edge AI capabilities and propel the transformation of HR practices with the support of a global giant like Goldman Sachs, which will benefit a wide range of sectors and clients globally.
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