KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) welcomed Lord Aamer Sarfraz of Kensington, who is a senior adviser to several NYSE-listed technological firms including DigitalOcean Holdings Inc, Yancey Spruill, the CEO of DigitalOcean, and Aaqib Gadit, the founder of Cloudways, at a gong ceremony held to celebrate the acquisition of Cloudways by DigitalOcean Holdings Inc.
This is the biggest acquisition in terms of value of a Pakistani software firm by an international company.
MD and CEO of the PSX Farrukh H Khan welcomed the guests to the ceremony. Explaining the significance of the occasion, he said: “This acquisition by DigitalOcean of Cloudways is a testament to the fact that Pakistani tech companies present a compelling business opportunity for strategic and portfolio investors. The talent pool in information technology (IT) ecosystem is impressive, which is why there is significant potential in this industry.
“Crucially the IT industry is capable of (ensuring) growing exports of services at a compounded rate, which is of great importance for Pakistan at this juncture.... Despite challenges startup funding was $347 million in 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has established legal definitions for startups, and the federal government has helped set up Special Technology Zones to support the IT industry.”
Farrukh Khan expressed the hope that the acquisition would augur well for the country’s IT industry.
Lord Aamer Sarfraz struck the gong to open the trading day in the presence of Yancey Spruill, the CEO of Digital Ocean Holdings Inc, and Aaqib Gadit, the founder of Cloudways and chief revenue officer of DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. Also present on the occasion were Dr Shamshad Akhtar, the chairperson of PSX, board members and management officials of PSX and leading figures from the IT industry.
Speaking on the occasion, Lord Sarfraz said: “The Pakistan Stock Exchange, under the leadership of its dynamic CEO Farrukh Khan, will play an important role in the redistribution of wealth across the country, as the economy starts to rebound. Pakistan has had a challenging year, with devastating floods and global economic pressures. The Cloudways story is nonetheless one to celebrate — it demonstrates (that) Pakistani entrepreneurs continue to deliver world-class innovation.”
CEO of DigitalOcean Holdings Inc Yancey Spruill said: “We are honoured to be welcomed to the Pakistan Stock Exchange and are incredibly excited about the long-term growth potential of our investment in Pakistan through our Cloudways acquisition.”
In her closing remarks, Dr Shamshad Akhtar congratulated Lord Aamer Sarfraz, Yancey Spruill and Aaqib Gadit on successful acquisition of Cloudways by DigitalOcean Inc. It is the largest acquisition of a Pakistani startup by an American firm, she pointed out.
She hoped that news like this would lead to further investments in Pakistan’s IT sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023