Nomura, Japan’s largest investment bank and broking firm, has jumped into the race to acquire homegrown investment firm Avendus, a KKR portfolio company, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday.
Majority owned by US private equity giant KKR, Avendus is best known in India for advising large startups such as SoftBank-backed food delivery firm Swiggy and eyewear retailer Lenskart on their fundraising.
Avendus Group has a presence in investment banking, institutional equities, wealth management, credit solutions, and asset management. KKR had acquired a majority stake in Avendus Group in 2015.
Nomura was initially the sell-side banker for the Avendus transaction but with the firm joining the fray as a potential suitor, the Japanese bank has relinquished the mandate, the report said.
The Avendus sale process has already seen keen interest from Japanese financial conglomerate Mizuho, perceived as the most aggressive contender, and US buyout fund Carlyle.
KKR, which owns 63% of the firm, is seeking a valuation of Rs 5,500-6,000 crore for its nine-year-old investment. However, most bidders are unlikely to cough up such a high premium and are looking at a Rs 4,500-5,000 crore figure, the report said.
In May, Avendus launched its third future leaders’ fund that is targeting to raise Rs 3,000 crore ($350 million).
Across its predecessor funds, Avendus manages assets of over Rs 1,850 crore. Its portfolio includes Bikaji Foods, Delhivery, VerSe Innovation (Dailyhunt), Veritas Finance, FirstCry, Avanse Financial Services, and Xpressbees.
Its second fund, which is 88% deployed, closed in 2022 at $200 million. Before that, Avendus had raised about $50 million for Fund I in 2019 to bet on India’s new economy sectors. The fund’s investments include both primary transactions and secondaries.
At least four of its portfolio companies – FirstCry, Avanse, Veritas Finance and Indigene – have disclosed plans to go public.
