Blackstone-backed R Systems buys Novigo for Rs 400 cr, plus performance-linked stock

BENGALURU: The acquisition of Novigo Solutions by Blackstone-backed R Systems marks the third major buyout of a Mangaluru-headquartered tech firm in recent years, firmly placing the coastal city—and its neighbour Udupi—on India’s technology M&A map.

R Systems said on Thursday that it will acquire Novigo Solutions for an upfront cash payout of Rs 400 crore, with additional stock consideration tied to future performance milestones, a stock exchange filing showed.

A source familiar with the deal told TOI that the total transaction value is estimated to be around Rs 950 crore. Emails sent to R Systems and Novigo Solutions did not receive responses by press time.

Founded by Praveen Kumar Kalbhavi, Mohammed Hanif, Mohammed Jarood, and Shihab Kalandar, Novigo offers low-code/no-code development and intelligent automation services to clients across BFSI, hi-tech, and manufacturing sectors. The company reported Rs 264 crore in revenue for the 2024-25 financial year, with an EBITDA margin of 25%. It has a 1,000-strong workforce, primarily based in Mangaluru.

The Novigo deal follows NTT Data’s acquisition of Niveus Solutions in November last year, another Mangaluru-born firm. Niveus, with around 1,000 engineers, specializes in Google Cloud Platform services, focusing on modernisation, data engineering, and AI.

NTT Data said the acquisition strengthened its position as one of the largest global system integrators for Google Cloud. Niveus had built a strong presence across financial services, automotive, retail, and logistics.

This acquisition streak began in August 2021, when TechnoPro Holdings of Japan acquired Robosoft Technologies, based in Udupi, in a Rs 805 crore two-phase deal. Founded in 1996 by Rohith Bhat, Robosoft counted Apple as its first client and later worked with Disney, Warner Bros Pictures, Paytm, and Heineken.

At the time of that deal, Robosoft had about 1,000 employees, including 600 in Udupi. TechnoPro said the acquisition expanded its customer base in Japan, while Robosoft’s leadership described it as validation that a global-scale digital services company could be built and exited from a small coastal town.

Together, the three acquisitions—Robosoft in 2021, Niveus in 2024, and Novigo in 2025—underscore how Mangaluru and Udupi are emerging as significant hubs of value creation in India’s tech industry. Each deal was valued at over Rs 800 crore, positioning the coastal belt alongside larger metros in producing companies that attract global strategic buyers.