Allianz invests $200m in Edelweiss India private debt platform
Allianz Investment Management, a unit of insurance giant Allianz Group, has invested over $200 million in a private debt platform managed by Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors, the alternative investment arm of India’s Edelweiss Group.
According to a release, the deal marks the first investment by Allianz in India’s private debt space. It is the second partnership between Edelweiss and a global institutional investor following the commitment of $700 million to the firm by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in 2016. It also follows the INR92 billion ($1.3 billion) close of Edelweiss India Stressed Asset Fund II, Edelweiss’ second fund focused on investments in Indian stressed assets.
Edelweiss had INR152 billion in alternative assets under management as of March 2018, with private debt accounting for 65% of the total. Its private debt strategy includes distressed assets and special opportunities, along with real estate credit.
Like many global investors that have launched Indian debt strategies in recent years, Allianz hopes to take advantage of the large volume of bad loans in India’s banking system and recent moves by the government to give lenders more power to recover non-performing assets. The introduction of a new bankruptcy code has been seen as a significant step toward lowering historic protections for borrowers.
Allianz’s partnership with Edelweiss represents a further expansion of its presence in India. Last November the firm joined private equity-backed Asian logistics and fund management platform ESR to jointly invest around $1 billion in Indian logistics and industrial facilities, seeking to build modernized supply chains to support the rapid growth of e-commerce in the country.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.