India-focused mid-market private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management Pvt. Ltd is investing Rs 73 crore ($11.2 million) in Mumbai-headquartered Sanctum Wealth Management.
The company, which operates across five major cities in India, will use the money to strengthen its operating platform, besides increasing its client coverage. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, the company said in a press statement.
As part of the deal, Multiples PE managing director Sudhir Variyar will join Sanctum’s board.
Sanctum started operations with the acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Indian private banking business in April 2016. It provides a range of wealth management services, including a full spectrum of investment services, estate planning solutions, real estate services and capital market solutions for entrepreneurs. It caters to high net-worth individuals in India and abroad.
The company, which had recently started servicing international clients, has plans to set up offices in Singapore and Dubai, and is looking to expand its domestic presence as well.
Last September, it had set a target to increase its managed assets to Rs 20,000 crore from the current Rs 5,000 crore. During its launch in 2016, it had acquired assets of over Rs 3,700 crore from RBS.
Renuka Ramnath, managing director and CEO at Multiples PE, said: “We are delighted to be associated with Sanctum at a time when unprecedented growth in personal wealth is driving the need for professional wealth management services in India. In a short time, Sanctum has created a brand for itself as a customer-centric, agile and trustworthy platform.â€
Sanctum CEO Shiv Gupta said: “Having set out with a vision of becoming the most trusted Indian wealth advisor, our aim is to create a robust yet agile operating platform that is so important to our clients in this fast-moving domestic economy.â€
Zanskar Advisors were the investment banker for the transaction.
Sanctum competes with the likes of Mumbai-based Waterfield Advisors, which advises family offices and ultra-high net worth families. Waterfield had earlier said that it was looking to grow assets under advisory by five times to Rs 50,000 crore in the next three years.
Wodehouse Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd, which began as a multifamily office managing the wealth of rich clients, has also expanded into investment banking, besides providing consultancy services to foreign firms planning their India entry strategy.
Multiples PE
Multiples was founded in 2009 by private equity industry veteran and former ICICI Venture chief Renuka Ramnath.
The PE firm manages close to $1 billion across a portfolio of 18 companies from its two funds. It has started raising money for its third fund alongside a sizeable side-car or co-investment fund that would double the size of its assets under management.
