iSoftStone Holdings, a Beijing-based provider of IT and BPO services, has closed a round of financing led by Everbright Private Equity, the private equity arm of China Everbright, a financial conglomerate listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a major shareholder of China Everbright Bank.
China Everbright Bank, a nationwide commercial bank, has been a client of iSoftStone since 2007. Joining the round were existing investors AsiaVest Partners, Fidelity Asia Ventures, Infotech Pacific Ventures and Mitsui Ventures Global Fund.
Also joining this funding round is Wuxi Jinyuan Industry Investment Development, an investment arm of the Wuxi municipal government, which is making an investment in iSoftStone as part of its commitment to supporting China’s growing outsourcing industry.
TW Liu, chairman and CEO of iSoftStone, said: We are pleased to complete this growth financing with a well-regarded partner such as Everbright Private Equity. We believe that this investment, which comes from an existing client of iSoftStone, is a validation of our service offering, particularly with domestic Chinese banking clients.
He Ling, chairwoman of Everbright Private Equity, said: Everbright is pleased to have the opportunity to support our strategic relationship with iSoftStone. iSoftStone’s unique ‘China + global’ market positioning, client value proposition and world-class management team are key differentiators for us, as both a client historically and also now as a strategic investor.
Michael Wu, CFO of iSoftStone, said: During the past year, in spite of severely impaired global capital markets, iSoftStone raised more than $65m, which includes the Everbright-led investment and capital obtained from a number of domestic Chinese commercial banks, which provides a strong capital base to support our continued growth. Our strong capital base will be used to fund further growth, including working capital, delivery platform expansion and potential strategic acquisitions.