Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Canada’s leading pension fund manager, will be acquiring a 20 per cent stake in Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company, largest ARC in India with around Rs 30,000 crore of assets under management. CDPQ also signed a long-term agreement to invest $600-700 million (Rs 5,000 crore) over the next four years in stressed assets and private debt opportunities here. CDPQ has already pumped in around $ 1.5 billion in various domestic companies. However, the two firms did not disclose the value of the 20 per cent equity sale to the Canadian fund. Watch What Else Is Making News “Across our whole organisation, one of our top priorities is India as it has growth potential and strong fundamentals. Today, we are making an initial commitment of $300 million to this partnership,” CDPQ president and chief executive Michael Sabia said. Sabia said his fund sees two big opportunities in this partnership. “First, by expanding credit opportunities, access to credit for Indian companies and by building with Edelweiss, a large and a growing platform to take on an important work of asset reconstruction,” Sabia said. Edelweiss Group chairman Rashesh Shah said: “We collectively aim to channelise Rs 12,000-14,000 crore, which includes Rs 5,000 crore from CDPQ over the next four years and investments from us and other institutional investors into the private debt and restructuring of stressed assets.” As part of this partnership, CDPQ will be acquiring a 20 per cent stake in Edelweiss ARC. This platform will invest in assets with the aim of restructuring debt and turning around firms, as well as providing funds to Indian businesses. “These investments will result in the purchase of non-performing loans from Indian banks and investments in private debt of growing Indian companies. Edelweiss recently established a consulting team to add value and make operational improvements in promising industrial businesses with a focus on Remake in India,” Shah said.
