Bandhan's asset management test; IDFC MF's acquisition could be a challenge

The deal will make Bandhan Financial Holdings the latest banking group foray into the Rs 38-trillion domestic mutual fund (MF) industry

For a financial group that started out in the micro-finance business, Bandhan Financial Holdings has taken a great leap with its agreement last week to acquire, together with private equity players GIC and ChrysCapital, IDFC Mutual Fund. The deal will make Bandhan Financial Holdings, which holds a 40 per cent stake in the seven-year-old private bank Bandhan Bank, the latest banking group to foray into the Rs 38-trillion domestic mutual fund (MF) industry.

The deal represents a meeting of mutual interest. Parent IDFC was looking to exit the MF space for quite some time as part of its strategy to divest