Financial services conglomerate Edelweiss Group said on Wednesday it is raising $125 million (Rs 875 crore) from US-based investment firm Kora Management.
Kora Management has committed to invest $75 million in Edelweiss Global Investment Advisors (EGIA) and $50 million in Edelweiss Group, the Indian conglomerate said in a statement.
The investment in EGIA, the group’s advisory business, is subject to structuring-related milestones. The timing and structuring of the investment in Edelweiss Group is being finalised.
Kora, which is focused on the financial and technology sectors across emerging markets, is an existing investor in Edelweiss.
Edelweiss Group said it is also in talks with investors to join this first external investment round in EGIA, which will be limited to $200 million in total.
Edelweiss said in a statement that the investment by Kora was validation of the group’s platform. Group chairman and chief executive officer Rashesh Shah said its customers would benefit from the investment firm’s expertise in technology and financial services in emerging markets.
“Kora Management is directly aligned with the strategic goals of the business, and we are very happy to strengthen our already long association,” Shah said.
Separately, Kora founder and chief executive officer Nitin Saigal said EGIA was well-positioned in the asset and wealth management and distressed debt segments. Edelweiss group has successfully built a diversified financial services business in the country.
EGIA includes the group’s asset reconstruction, wealth and asset management, and institutional client group businesses. It contributes nearly 50% of the group’s profits, and has over Rs 2 lakh crore in customer assets.
The Edelweiss Group has been raising money at a breakneck pace this year.
In January, for instance, Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Ltd raised Rs 9,200 crore ($1.3 billion) to invest in stressed assets.
In February, Allianz Investment Management, part of German insurer Allianz Group, invested $200 million (around Rs 1,420 crore) in Edelweiss’ private debt platform. The investment marked the first private-debt commitment by Allianz in India’s stressed assets segment.
Following that, in March, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) agreed to invest Rs 1,800 crore ($250 million) in the group’s non-banking financial arm.
