Can a European company own 100% of an Indian software company?

Yes. Software development is open to 100% foreign direct investment under the automatic route, so no government approval is needed for EU investors. Government approval is required only for investors from countries that share a land border with India, which does not affect European acquirers.

Why do Indian founders ignore emails from European buyers?

Because they receive dozens, from US funds, Indian consolidators and bankers, and a European name with no presence in the country rarely gets past the first screen. What works is a person who has lived there, knows the founder's investors and references, and shows up in Bengaluru on a Tuesday.

Where are the companies?

Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi NCR, with a growing share holding their global business through a Singapore entity. We cover both ends: our database holds more than 2,000 software companies in India and Singapore that we have met or spoken with.

What did your Indian mandate look like?

For a top-5 global technology company entering Indian payments we screened 9,000 fintechs and 180 RBI-licensed payment aggregators, mapped 500+ players, selected 128 founder-led targets and reached 118 founders (92%): 76 qualified conversations, 23 NDAs and one USD 350m+ strategic investment.

Bengaluru · Pune · Hyderabad · Chennai · Mumbai · Delhi NCR · Singapore

Acquiring a software company in India.

India has one of the largest B2B software ecosystems outside the United States, most of it in founder-led companies that sell to the world from Bengaluru, Pune or Chennai. Very few have been bought by a European acquirer. This page is for the ones who intend to.

2,000+software companies in India and Singapore we have met or spoken with

9,000Indian fintechs screened for one client before we picked 128 targets

92%of founders reached on that list: 118 of 128

The market

Global products, local owners.

The companies worth buying are not the IT services giants. They are product companies with USD 2–30m revenue, often bootstrapped, selling to customers in the United States, the Gulf and Southeast Asia, and run by founders who have never spoken to a European buyer. Payments and banking software, healthcare, logistics, HR and payroll, education, vertical SaaS of every kind.

Our database holds more than 2,000 of them in India and Singapore that we have met or spoken with. We grow it every day.

Why owners don't answer

A European email is one of fifty.

Indian founders are approached constantly: by US funds, by Indian consolidators, by banks selling sell-side mandates. A European name with no presence in the country rarely gets past the first screen, and a founder who has raised money will ask his investors before he answers anyone.

What works is a person who has lived there, speaks the language, knows who vouches for whom, and shows up in person. We have been building that presence in India for fifteen years.

How we reach them

We have lived there. We map before we call.

Members of our team worked in India for years and we speak Hindi. The list is the product: we screen the whole market before we approach a single founder.

Market map first.

Every player, the dependencies between them, who is licensed, who is funded by whom. Then the founder-led targets that fit your thesis, and how to reach each one.

Founder by founder.

Phone and WhatsApp first, in person when it matters. Willingness to sell, financials, investor position, timing. Your deal team meets a founder who is expecting the call.

Singapore as the hub.

Many Indian software companies hold their global business through Singapore. We cover both entities and both sets of owners.

Mandate

Top-5 global technology company entering Indian payments: 9,000 fintechs screened, 128 targets, 118 founders reached (92%), 76 qualified conversations, 23 NDAs, one USD 350m+ strategic investment. Full mandate →

Deal mechanics

What a European buyer should know.

The short version. Indian exchange-control rules shape price, escrow and timing more than most European buyers expect; we go through them with your counsel before the first founder meeting.

Ownership: 100% foreign ownership, automatic route. Software development is open to full foreign direct investment without government approval. Approval is required only for investors from countries sharing a land border with India.
Price floor: Fair value, certified. A share transfer from an Indian resident to a non-resident must be at or above fair value certified by a merchant banker or chartered accountant, and is reported to the Reserve Bank of India within 60 days.
Escrow and earn-outs: Up to 25% of the price may be deferred or escrowed for up to 18 months under exchange-control rules. Longer or larger earn-outs need a different structure; we have seen most of them.
Structure: Share purchase in a private limited company, often with a Singapore or US parent holding the global contracts and the IP. Check where the revenue and the code sit before you price.
Tax: Capital-gains withholding sits with the buyer. The treaty position of your acquiring entity matters; take tax advice before the LOI, not after.
Timeline: Four to nine months from first conversation to LOI. Founders decide with their families and their early investors; a clear story about what happens to the team after closing shortens it.

Questions

Asked by every European buyer looking at India.

Can a European company own 100% of an Indian software company?: Yes. Software development is open to 100% foreign direct investment under the automatic route, so no government approval is needed for EU investors. Government approval is required only for investors from countries that share a land border with India, which does not affect European acquirers.
Why do Indian founders ignore emails from European buyers?: Because they receive dozens, from US funds, Indian consolidators and bankers, and a European name with no presence in the country rarely gets past the first screen. What works is a person who has lived there, knows the founder's investors and references, and shows up in Bengaluru on a Tuesday.
Where are the companies?: Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi NCR, with a growing share holding their global business through a Singapore entity. We cover both ends: our database holds more than 2,000 software companies in India and Singapore that we have met or spoken with.
What did your Indian mandate look like?: For a top-5 global technology company entering Indian payments we screened 9,000 fintechs and 180 RBI-licensed payment aggregators, mapped 500+ players, selected 128 founder-led targets and reached 118 founders (92%): 76 qualified conversations, 23 NDAs and one USD 350m+ strategic investment.