Avendus Group on Wednesday said that Redpoint Investments, an affiliate of global investment firm KKR, will divest its stake in the institutional financial services firm to Japan’s Mizuho Securities.
Avendus co-founder and executive vice chairman Ranu Vohra will also sell his stake and continue in his role until the deal is completed, pending regulatory approvals.
Even as the deal size was not disclosed, media reports pegged it at about 81 billion yen ($523 million).
KKR invested in Avendus in 2015 through its Asian Fund II.
Mizuho Securities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, one of the largest full-service financial institutions in the world. In its home market, the group serves more than 20 million retail customers and around 80% of listed companies.
Internationally, Mizuho has been expanding its presence, offering corporate and investment banking services through a network of over 100 offices outside Japan.
According to a Nikkei report, Mizuho will acquire a stake of over 60% in the Indian investment bank, with the remaining shares held by the founders, employees, and other stakeholders. The Japanese firm could increase its ownership stake in the future. The transaction will make Avendus a consolidated subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, the report added.
“As we build on the foundation we’ve laid over the last 26 years, we are delighted to announce a long-term strategic partnership with Mizuho in our next phase of growth,” said Gaurav Deepak, Co-founder and CEO of Avendus Group, in a media statement.
Masahiro Kihara, President and Group CEO, Mizuho Financial Group, added: “Avendus has been walking side- by-side with the entrepreneurs supporting India’s rise … Their journey parallels our own journey of innovating together with clients for social and economic development.”
The deal reflects a broader push by Japanese financial firms to expand in India, attracted by the country’s rapid economic growth.
With a 150-year history in banking, Mizuho Financial Group operates in 33 countries with 828 offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Its total assets stand at about $2 trillion.
Founded in 1999, Avendus is an institutional financial services firm with businesses spanning investment banking, wealth management, institutional equities and asset management.
Headquartered in Mumbai, the firm serves entrepreneurs, capital providers, family offices and corporate clients across seven core sectors and more than 50 sub-sectors. Avendus operates from 12 cities across India, the US, and Singapore.
