Blackstone said to consider selling SG’s Interplex ICT unit for $1b

Blackstone Inc. is exploring the possibility of selling Interplex’s information and communications technology (ICT) unit, which could be valued at over US$1 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The private equity firm is working with a financial adviser, but no final decision has been made, and the process remains in preliminary stages.

Blackstone acquired Singapore-based Interplex in 2022 from Baring Private Equity Asia, now part of EQT AB.

Interplex produces components for electric vehicles, autonomous driving, medical devices, and cloud computing, with its ICT division providing solutions for networking enclosures, servers, disk drives, wearables, and mobile devices.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

### The billion-dollar valuation hinges on undisclosed financial details

A proposed valuation above $1 billion should be weighed against the ICT units financial results, which are not provided.
Revenue size, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margins, plus customer concentration are required to judge whether the price implies a sensible multiple.
The business mix between servers and networking enclosures and more cyclical end markets, including wearables and mobile devices, should be spelled out.
That split is needed to gauge exposure to steadier cloud computing infrastructure demand versus faster consumer electronics product cycles.

### The carve-out could create an opening for ERP and other enterprise software vendors

Enterprise software vendors and systems integrators could gain work if the ICT unit is separated into a standalone business.
An independent company of this size will likely need an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to run supply chain and finance.
Discover Financial Services tied ERP modernization to consolidating systems onto a unified cloud platform, which improved data quality and decision making 1.
Cloud ERP can cut upfront capital spending and speed up operations for mid-sized manufacturers, though fit depends on the carved-out units requirements 2.