Global PE firm Advent acquires minority stake in ASK Group

Global private equity firm Advent International has acquired a significant minority ownership interest in ASK Group, an investment and wealth management business in India, the two said in a statement.

ASK Group’s founders will retain a majority stake in the company and the management team will continue to lead the business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction is the first investment that Advent has made in India from its new $13 billion global private equity fund, GPE VIII, and its third investment in India in the past two years, following the purchase of equity stakes in Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and QuEST Global Services.

Founded in 1983, ASK claims to be India’s largest equity portfolio management service provider, a leading real estate investment manager and one of the country’s top wealth managers. The group also has a private equity fund management business. ASK manages assets of over Rs 29,480 crore (US $4.4billion) across seven offices in India and also has offices in Dubai and Singapore.

“ASK is a leading player in India’s growing investment management market, which is benefitting from rising per capita income, savings and increasing penetration of professional investment advisory services,” said Shweta Jalan, Managing Director and India head of Advent International. “ASK has well-respected investment managers, and we believe it is strongly positioned to enhance the value it offers to customers by expanding its reach, products and services. We look forward to working with ASK’s management team to pursue these growth opportunities,” she said.

“We are pleased to welcome Advent International as our new investment partner as we look to take our businesses to the next level of growth,” said Asit Koticha, Chairman and Founder of ASK Group. “With its deep sector expertise and global resources, Advent can bring significant value to help us increase productivity, broaden our range of services and expand our international presence,” he said

Commenting on the partnership, Sunil Rohokale, managing director and CEO of ASK Group, said, “This partnership will enable ASK Group to scale up its existing business, and explore new business opportunities domestically and internationally.” He added, “With the help of the Advent team, ASK plans to build an international franchise for Indian investment opportunities focusing on institutional investors and family offices.”

Advent has invested in 40 companies in subsectors such as payments, insurance and consumer finance over the past 25 years. The firm has been investing in India since 2007 and opened an office in Mumbai in 2009. In addition to ASK Group, Advent’s investments in India have included Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, India’s leading supplier of consumer electrical goods, lighting and lighting automation systems; QuEST, a global engineering solutions provider; Care Hospitals, one of the leading tertiary care hospital chains in the country; and Computer Age Management Services (CAMS), India’s leading provider of business process outsourcing services to the asset management industry.

Moelis & Company served as exclusive financial advisor and Shardul Amarchand served as legal advisor to ASK Group on the transaction. Nomura served as exclusive financial advisor and Cyril Amarchand served as legal advisor to Advent International.