Financial services company Equirus Capital said Monday it has acquired Credence Family Office for about Rs 100 crore ($11.5 million) to strengthen its wealth management business.
The transaction has led to the exit of TIW Private Equity, which acquired a majority stake in Credence Family Office in 2019, Equiris said in a statement.
As part of the transaction, Credence founder and CEO Mitesh Shah will join the leadership group at Equirus. Credence's leadership will take over Equirus Wealth’s family office business and the combined entity will be known as Equirus-Credence Family Office.
With this acquisition, the total wealth assets under Equirus Group will expand to Rs 18,000 crore and its workforce will increase to 450 people.
Equirus is present across investment banking, institutional securities, wealth management, portfolio management, HNI broking, and insurance solutions. Led by founder Ajay Garg, Equirus’ shareholders include the likes of the Jhunjhunwala family, Federal Bank, and Amicus PE fund. The company has completed more than 285 transactions across M&A, PE, IPOs, rights issues, and structured finance to date over the last 17 years.
Credence was founded in 2010 in Bengaluru by Mitesh Shah and Nitesh Arora. It offers wealth management as well as domestic and offshore tax advisory services. It has over 350 clients — including family houses, first-generation entrepreneurs, sportspersons, celebrities, and business leaders. It has assets under advisory of Rs 8,000 crore, and a team of 55 professionals.
Credence had in November last year said it was looking to launch its second fund in the first half of 2025. The family office raised its first fund in 2022, and said it expected to launch the new fund by March this year with the aim to mop up Rs 150-200 crore. The planned vehicle, like its predecessor, was to focus on secondaries transactions to buy assets from existing investors.
