Aditya Birla Capital in JV with US fund

Aditya Birla Capital Ltd and US fund manager Värde Partners have decided to form a joint venture to invest in stressed assets across sectors in India. As per the deal, Varde Partners will acquire a 50 per cent stake in Aditya Birla Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd, which is currently a wholly owned unit of Aditya Birla Capital. Varde will pay at least Rs 98 crore ($14 million) for the stake. The two partners will separately invest more in the joint venture, Aditya Birla Capital said in a statement. It didn′t specify the amount the two partners will invest or how much the joint venture planned to invest in stressed assets. However, multiple media reports said the JV planned to invest as much as $1 billion (about Rs 7,000 crore) in stressed assets. According to the statement, the joint venture will leverage Aditya Birla Capital′s expertise in financial services and Varde's capabilities in global credit and value-investing strategies. Värde manages about $14 billion globally. It has invested nearly $500 million in India over the past five years across stressed, special situations and lending assets, according to the statement. Ilfryn Carstairs, Co-investment chief at Värde, said: “We see India as a core market and critical part of our long-term strategy in Asia.”