Equity Firm Pours $48 Million Into Chinese IT Outsourcing Company

One of the world’s largest technology investment firms announced today that it will sink $48 million in private equity into DarwinSuzsoft, a Chinese company that specializes in IT outsourcing.The deal by Francisco Partners, which has $5 billion in capital, demonstrates the growing momentum in China as a destination for IT and business-process outsourcing. Francisco is known for such deals as its $200 million acquisition of software company FrontRange Solutions and sizable investments in Barracuda Networks and Primavera Systems.

“We think it’s the largest deal ever done for outsourcing and offshoring in China,” said DarwinSuzsoft CEO Dan Ross in an interview. “It’s not typical for a Chinese investment, but I think you’ll start to see more of this because the heat is growing rapidly in terms of the marketplace.”