PE firm Recognize acquires majority stake in Blue Mantis

Recognize, a private equity firm that supports digital services companies, announced Tuesday that it has acquired a majority stake in IT services provider Blue Mantis.

Meanwhile, U.S. PE firm Abry Partners, which backed the company in 2020, will remain a minority investor. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

New Hampshire-based Blue Mantis will use the capital to expand its capabilities and scale, including through acquisitions. The company has a global delivery center in Bengaluru and an office in Toronto, Canada.

“We believe we can leverage the company’s existing foundation to fuel a powerful go-to-market strategy,” said Mike Grady, partner at Recognize. “Combined with several near-term and long-term acquisitions that can add immediate impact, Blue Mantis will be better positioned to build strong momentum with existing and new customers.”

The IT firm provides its clients with digital technology services and strategic consulting to help them adapt and grow through automation and innovation. It serves middle-market and enterprise clients focused on North American markets across verticals including business services, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and the public sector.

“Our team is fully aligned with Recognize on key strategic imperatives to unlock value in the next chapter of our growth,” said Josh Dinneen, CEO of Blue Mantis. “With our new partners in Recognize, we look forward to capitalizing on growing customer demand for our expanding portfolio of managed services, cybersecurity and cloud offerings.”

Recognize is making the investment from its $1.3 billion inaugural fund it raised in 2022. The fund was founded by Francisco D’Souza, former CEO of US technology services firm Cognizant.

Its last disclosed investment in India was more than a year ago in MediaMint, a US-India digital advertising company. It has also backed several other domestic companies, including digital engineering firm Ciklum, pure-play services organization SpringML, cloud and digital transformation solutions provider AST Global; virtual talent platform for software engineers Torc and data analytics provider Blend360.