Mizuho on verge of buying majority stake in investment bank Avendus

By Baiju Kalesh, Manuel Baigorri and Hideki Suzuki

 

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is on the verge of buying a majority stake in investment bank Avendus Capital Pvt, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the latest acquisition by a Japanese bank in India.

 

Executives are hammering out details of a transaction that could be finalised as soon as this month and value Avendus at about $800 million, including debt, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.  

 

 

Mizuho, Japan’s third-largest lender, plans to acquire KKR & Co.’s 63 per cent stake in Avendus and may also buy shares from minority investors, bringing its total holding to about 70 per cent, the people added.

 

Representatives for Mizuho and KKR declined to comment. Avendus didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

 

Bloomberg News reported in February that Mizuho was working on a deal to buy a majority stake in Avendus. In another example of a Japanese bank turning to India, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s banking unit last month agreed to buy a 20 per cent stake in Yes Bank Ltd. for about Rs 135 billion ($1.6 billion). 

 

Mizuho is seeking to replicate its US playbook by leaning on the experience and connections of a local partner to grow its dealmaking business. In 2023, it bought US investment bank Greenhill & Co. to boost its presence in advisory for mergers and acquisitions in the Americas.

 

An Avendus acquisition would bolster Miuzho’s presence in India, which has become a hotspot for initial public offerings and M&A. Chief Executive Officer Masahiro Kihara has said the lender isn’t interested in traditional retail banking assets in Asia.