Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd and Deutsche Bank's investment arm DWS Group on November 13 announced a plan that they have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enter into strategic collaboration to strengthen Alternatives, Passives and Global Distribution.
Under the MoU, DWS plans to invest into Nippon Life India AIF Management (NIAIF) to further scale-up the Alternatives business of Nippon India. As part of the deal, DWS will hold up to 40% in the unit, with Nippon Life India owning the rest.
"With close to $1 billion commitments raised and an established track record of 10 years, NIAIF is one of India’s leading asset managers for various categories of Indian Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). It is still in early stages of growth and has so far built a comprehensive Alternatives product suite across Private Credit, Listed Equities, Real Estate and Venture Capital. With the proposed JV it plans to further expand its product suite and expand its coverage to offshore investors through DWS’s global reach. DWS plans to acquire a minority stake of 40 percent in NIAIF," the firms said in a joint statement.
The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which will be subject to regulatory approvals.
Sundeep Sikka, ED & CEO of Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd, said: “By bringing together DWS’s global expertise with our 3 decades of Indian asset management expertise, we aim to build a strong and scalable alternatives franchise that attracts both domestic and international investors. Alternatives is the next big opportunity in India’s asset management landscape and with this collaboration we will further strengthen our Alternatives platform. At the same time, our partnership in Passive strategies and Global distribution will allow us to deliver world-class investment access to Global and Indian investors. In addition to Japan, this partnership now opens other key global markets for NAMI and positions us as a truly global asset manager.”
Stefan Hoops, CEO of DWS, said: “India is one of the core growth markets for global asset managers for the next decades and has long been a strategic ambition for DWS. We are thrilled to partner with NAMI to invest in a well-established franchise to jointly address the growing demand for long-term investments into the Indian economy. The envisaged agreements tackle three of our priorities: drive growth in Alternatives and Passive, deliver on our promise to leverage our strong partnerships in Asia, and pursue our ambition to become ‘top 5 in Top 5’.”
"India's dynamic economy and its accelerating demand for sophisticated investment solutions make this partnership a natural step for us," Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, India and Emerging Asia of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement.
Kazuo Sato, Senior Managing Executive Officer of Nippon Life Insurance Japan, said: “NAMI is an important subsidiary of Nippon Life and one of our most successful asset management acquisitions overseas. Over the years, we have built a strong Indo-Japan corridor, fostering trust, collaboration, and innovation. Our long-standing relationship with Deutsche Bank, DWS and NAMI makes this proposed partnership a natural and strategic step forward. This collaboration represents a true win-win — combining DWS’s global investment expertise with NAMI’s strong local market presence to create lasting value for investors across both organizations.”
NIAIF plans to use the entire investment for business growth and future expansion of its alternatives platform.
Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd (NAMI) is India’s fourth largest asset manager and second largest Passive Asset Manager in India managing $85 billion of Assets under Management (AUM) and market cap of $6 billion.
DWS Group (DWS) is a leading European asset manager with global reach managing $1233 billion AUM and market cap of $12 billion.
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