Carlyle exits India's Edelweiss for $131m

Market data show the private equity firm sold 68 million shares of Edelweiss for INR127.37 each, a discount to the previous day’s closing price of INR133.10. Buyers included Goldman Sachs, GMO Emerging Markets Fund and Natwest Bank.

Carlyle first invested in Edelweiss in 2011, paying INR8.6 million for a 3.9% stake on the open market via its fourth Asia growth fund. The firm has raised its stake several times since then, most recently in 2014. Prior to its exit Carlyle held 8.2% of the company. Other PE backers include SAIF Partners, which held a 3.2% stake as of April 2016.

Edelweiss has seen strong investor interest since last year, with the stock price climbing as high as INR142.30 in February after more than five years in which it rarely breached INR70.

The company has been trying to grow from its roots as a capital markets advisory firm to embrace a more diverse business model including credit, insurance and wealth management. New ventures include a partnership with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which last year committed up to $700 million to Edelweiss over four years to invest in distressed assets and private debt in India.

Through its private equity division Edelweiss has also supported companies such as Indian car rental start-up Revv, for which it led a $9 million Series A round last year, and enterprise technology services provider Bridgei2i Analytics Solutions.

Edelweiss recorded INR53 billion in revenue for the year ended March 2016, up from INR39 billion the year before. Over the same period profit grew from INR5.3 billion to INR6.2 billion.

Carlyle continues to hold a significant stake in PNB Housing Finance, the mortgage lender subsidiary of state-run Punjab National Bank. The GP bought a 49% holding in the bank in 2015, which was later reduced to 37.5% in its IPO last year. Currently Carlyle is raising its fifth Asia growth fund, which launched last May with a target of $1 billion.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Financials
• Open market
• PIPEs
• India
• The Carlyle Group
• Financial Services
• Exit