KKR Invests in Avendus Capital

Leading global investment firm KKR and Avendus Capital (“Avendus” or “the Company”), a pre-eminent Indian financial services firm providing customized solutions in the areas of financial advisory and wealth management, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which KKR will invest in Avendus to fund the company’s foray into the credit solutions business and to grow its wealth and alternative asset management solutions offerings to its customers.

KKR is making its investment from its Asian Fund II. As a part of this transaction, KKR is purchasing shares from Eastgate Capital and Americorp Ventures, an early investor in Avendus. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Avendus has a strong focus on mid-market companies and the entrepreneurs leading these companies. As these companies grow, they need unique business and financing solutions, and Avendus aims to be the provider of choice for these products and solutions.

Avendus’ existing management team, led by co-founders Ranu Vohra, Gaurav Deepak and Kaushal Aggarwal, will continue to manage the platform’s day-to-day operations and its growth into the new businesses. The three founders bring more than 50 years of combined financial services experience to the firm.

Sanjay Nayar, Member of KKR and CEO of KKR India, said, “India is witnessing unprecedented demand for innovative and integrated financial services products as a result of rising entrepreneurship across sectors. Avendus is a world-class firm built and run by three visionary founders which delivers solutions to meet this demand by offering diverse alternative investment products and wealth advisory services.”

“As Ranu, Gaurav, Kaushal and the Avendus team continue to build on this banking franchise by seeking opportunities to elevate the company to the next level, KKR’s investment will aid this effort by accelerating the build-out of the Company’s highly sought-after investment banking platform which can be benchmarked against the world’s best,” added Mr. Nayar.

Ranu Vohra, Managing Director & CEO at Avendus, said, “Having created a platform which is trusted by entrepreneurs across industries, the mantra now for each of Avendus’ businesses is to ‘scale up’. We have excellent potential to expand our businesses and to become a comprehensive financial services provider to India’s first-generation businesses. KKR’s capital commitment and support will enable us to provide a broader set of synergistic services and products to these clients, which can catalyze their growth. We are very excited about what this partnership means for our clients and colleagues.”