KKR backs Classic Stripes promoters to buy back Navis Capital Partners' stake
Navis Capital had acquired the stake in the company in 2011
The promoter family of Classic Stripes Pvt Ltd (CSPL) has bought back the 51 percent stake that investment firm Navis Capital Partners (NCP) was holding in the company with backing from KKR & Co. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Last year, in a similar transaction, KKR had backed Shah family, co-promoters of Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, to acquire the 27 percent stake that private equity (PE) firm Warburg Pincus held in the pathology chain.
Started in 1987 by Kishore Musale, Classic Stripes is the single largest manufacturer of automotive graphics in the world and has more than 60 percent market share in the Indian OEM (original equipment manufacturer) decal market. Its clients include leading OEMs like Hero, Bajaj, Yamaha, Suzuki, John Deere, Continental, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra among others.
Classic Stripes is a part of Astarc Group which has an asset value of more than $1 billion. It has business interests in infrastructure, automobile and electronic solutions, angel investing, dairy and agriculture, retail display solutions, automobile and port sectors, and supports a host of charitable causes.
Navis Capital had acquired a 51 percent stake in the company in 2011. “We continue to be very excited about the future of Classic Stripes and are determined to serve our customers in the best possible manner,” says Musale, chairman of Astarc Group, in a statement.
o3 Capital acted as the sole financial advisor and AZB Partners was the legal advisor to the Musale family.
