Group CEO of Religare Enterprises Shachindra Nath has claimed the acquisition of Landmark Partners in the $171.5 million deal on Friday has pushed his company to the fourth position among India’s asset management companies. It now manages assets of over $ 15 billion.
Speaking to FE, he said Religare plans to reach a turnover of $70 billion in the next two years globally. That should position it as a leading emerging markets financial services group. The approximately Rs 772 crore deal will give the company a strong presence in the secondary transactions market in the US, as Landmark is a private equity and real estate fund-of-funds asset manager, specialising in that market.
A release issued by Religare said, “The parties have signed a definitive agreement for Religare to acquire a 55% stake in the business of Landmark Partners. Landmark Partners’ entire management team has made long-term commitments to its business as part of this transaction and will retain a significant equity stake in the business. The management team will continue to run the day-to-day operations without any change and be responsible for all investment decisions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.”
Landmark Partners manages 27 private equity and real estate secondary funds-of-funds with more than $8.3 billion of committed capital. Its headquarter is in Simsbury, Connecticut, and also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts and London. Nath said Religare has consistently focussed on building capacity abroad, especially in the US market as that still accounts for over 60% of the total capital flow in the world. He said as global capital moves towards the east, Religare is positioning itself as the company of choice for small and mid level AMCs from the US and European markets to tie up with.
“This transaction represents a clear opportunity for Landmark to expand its secondary investment into countries where Religare’s broader financial services platform has a global presence,” he added.
Source: Financial Express