The US private equity major Carlyle Group is all set to acquire a minority stake in Quest Global Services for an undisclosed amount, the company announced on August 8.

Sources were quoted as saying by The Economic Times, the buyout fund Carlyle Asia Partners will invest $500 million to acquire 28% stake in Quest Global Services at $1.8 billion valuation. Carlyle will buy out the existing investors Bain Capital, Advent Capital and GIC.

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An ET report revealed that founder Ajit Prabhu will invest $100 million to increase his stake in the company to 40% from the present 32%. The company too will invest $180-$200 million to buy back shares.

“We have known Ajit for two decades and we believe he has demonstrated visionary leadership over these years," said Amit Jain, Managing Director and Head of Carlyle India Advisors, was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.

Carlyle was one of the early backers of Quest Global and had invested $6 million in growth capital in September 2003.

Jain further added, “Carlyle was the first early-stage private equity investor in Quest Global. We believe the company’s undivided client centricity, drive for engineering excellence, differentiated global delivery model and the entrepreneurial energy of the management team have enabled it to scale successfully across a diverse set of industry verticals.”

Singapore-headquartered Quest Global is a leading global player in engineering, research and development (ER&D) services for the design, product development and operations of complex engineering systems. It currently has a multi-disciplinary team of over 17,500 engineers, across 67 delivery centers and offices, in 17 countries globally.

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A recent report revealed plans to hire 20,000 individuals in India over the next three to five years to double its local workforce.

"We look forward to working closely with Quest Global's management team while leveraging Carlyle’s deep sector expertise and global network to help the company expand its global leadership in the ER&D space," Jain added.

Quest further said that it plans to fo more acquisitions, adding new clients and getting ready for an IPO with the investment by Carlyle. "We have expertise in making our portfolio companies public successfully and manage acquisition of scale and help in integration, " Jain said.