Blackstone buys majority stake in Indian wealth manager
The Blackstone Group has acquired a majority stake in Indian wealth manager Ask Investment Managers, taking out positions held by Advent International and other investors.
The size of the transaction was not disclosed, but local media reported the valuation to be USD 1bn. Blackstone is taking a 71% stake in the business, including 49% from Advent, 11% from co-founder Asit Koticha, and 11% from management. Advent bought a minority stake in Ask in 2016.
The company claims to be one of India’s leading asset and wealth managers, serving clients across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It primarily caters to high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra HNWIs. As of December 2021, it had more than USD 10.6bn in assets under management.
Ask’s flagship equities offering, Indian Entrepreneur Portfolio, is the largest discretionary portfolio management services scheme in the country. The company also offers dedicated property investment and wealth advisory services.
“Asset and wealth management in India is a sunrise industry benefitting from secular tailwinds including the financialisation of household savings and an emerging wealthy population seeking personalised financial advice and products,” said Amit Dixit, head of Asia private equity at Blackstone, in a statement.
“Ask is one of the most trusted brands in wealth management, built through a track record of consistent performance, customer-centric approach, and best-in-class distributors.”
Private equity investment is well established in India’s wealth management space. In 2020, PAG paid USD 300m for a 51% stake in Edelweiss Group’s wealth management unit.
This followed General Atlantic’s purchase of a minority interest in IIFL Wealth Management for INR 11.2bn in 2015 and KKR’s acquisition of Avendus Capital – which offers a range of financial services – in 2018.
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