American private equity firm Blackstone has secured regulatory approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its acquisition of a majority holding in ASK Investment Managers.
The deal, first reported by Moneycontrol in August this year, would see Blackstone-affiliated BCP TopCo XII taking a 71.25% stake in the Indian asset and wealth management firm.
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The deal was given greenlight by CCI after it concluded that ‘the proposed combination does not result in an appreciable adverse effect on competition in any market in India’.
CCI said in a statement: “The principal activity of the acquirer is that of investment holding and related activities. However, at present, it does not have any business operations, in India or worldwide.”
Advent International-backed ASK offers portfolio management services to individuals, family offices and other entities.
The firm also provides investment solutions, investment advisory services, and wealth management and wealth planning services.
It is also engaged in the sponsoring and managing of alternate investment funds, offering credit facilities and in the distribution of financial products such as insurance and mutual funds.
ASK operates four business units- ASK Wealth Advisors; ASK Investment Managers; ASK Property Investment Advisors; and ASK Pravi Capital Advisors.
Last month, a report by Bloomberg said that Blackstone is planning to expand its workforce as part of its efforts to scale up its mass affluent business worldwide.
The company, which currently employs around 160 staffs to cater to its high-net-worth (HNW) clients, is now looking to ‘virtually double’ this number in the next years, Blackstone global head of private wealth solutions Joan Solotar told the news agency at the time.
Last September, Blackstone offloaded its 36% share in Rothesay Life to MassMutual and GIC for £2.1bn ($2.69bn).
