CCI clears Canadian fund CDPQ's acquisition of convertible debentures in Edelweiss NBFC arm

The Competition Commission of India has approved Canadian fund manager CDPQ's acquisition of compulsorily convertible debentures of Rs 1,800 crore in Edelweiss Group's non-banking financial services arm. Earlier in March this year, Edelweiss said CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDPQ, and Edelweiss Group signed an agreement for the investment of Rs 1,800 crore (USD 250 million) in ECL Finance Ltd.

ECL Finance is part of the Edelweiss Group and is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a non-banking financial company.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in a tweet on Friday said "it approves acquisition of compulsorily convertible debentures of ECL Finance Ltd by CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte Ltd".

The agreement with CDPQ will enable ECL Finance to capitalise on opportunities in the credit market and confirm the capability of the group to capture opportunities in the NBFC space, the group had said.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require clearance from the fair trade regulator.