Private Equity Fund Investments
Blackstone acquires 75% stake in visa processor VFS Global for over $1-B
Press Release Zeebiz Business Standard
US-based Private Equity firm Blackstone has acquired a majority stake in VFS Global, the world's largest visa processing service provider. Blackstone has reportedly acquired a 75% stake in VFS from the latter's existing PE investor EQT in an over USD 1 billion deal. The balance stake in VFS will be held by EQT and Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation (KHF). VSF was launched as a 'side project' at the travel group Kuoni in 2001 by its current chief executive Zubin Karkaria in Mumbai. It then moved its headquarters overseas. VFS serves over 60 governments through 3,500 visa applications in over 140 countries. In 2020, it posted a revenue of USD 739 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 14%. India is among the top three markets for VFS. In 2019, it processed over 6 million visa applications from 51 centres in the country.
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