SSG Capital co-founder Shyam Maheshwari resigns, to leave at end of 2021

Shyam Maheshwari, a partner at Ares SSG Group and cofounder of SSG Capital, has resigned and will leave at the end of this year, the global alternative investment manager said.

“After over 12 years as a founder of SSG, Shyam Maheshwari in July 2021 has decided to leave Ares SSG Company to dedicate more time to his family, especially his children, and pursue his interests in philanthropy and other personal interests,” Ares SSG Capital said in response to a query from Moneycontrol. “Maheshwari will be staying until the end of 2021 in order to facilitate a smooth transition,” they added.

Maheshwari is on Ares SSG’s investment committee and is a director of Ares SSG Singapore, according to the company website. His primary role is evaluation of investment opportunities in the India and Asia regions.

The company focuses on special situations, private equity (PE) and debt financing.

“Over the years, Maheshwari has made significant contributions to our company, particularly in the India market, where he has helped us build a strong business, and importantly a deep team of senior investment professionals who are well positioned to carry on our successful Indian business,” the company said in the email.

The other two cofounders of SSG Capital – Edwin Wong, currently managing partner and CEO of Ares SSG, and Andreas Vourloumis, partner with the responsibility to originate and evaluate investment opportunities – will continue with Ares SSG, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

The journey

Wong, Vourloumis and Maheshwari cofounded SSG Capital in 2009 with a focus on special situations and providing private debt to turn around distressed companies. The trio had worked at Lehman Brothers before it collapsed during the global financial crisis.

In January 2020, New York-listed Ares Management Corporation said its subsidiary would acquire a controlling equity stake in Hong Kong-based SSG Capital Holding.

The ARC route

Over the past year, Ares SSG has routed three transactions in India’s distressed assets space through Assets Care & Enterprise (ACRE), an asset reconstruction company in which Ares SSG Group has a 49 percent stake.

ACRE acquired almost Rs 6,600 crore of a distressed real estate portfolio from Altico, a deal approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in January 2021, and purchased an Rs 1,800 crore portfolio from Indiabulls ARC in May 2021. At about the same time, it invested Rs 1,200 crore in IIFL Finance’s alternate investment fund created to house big-ticket real estate loans, according to Capitalquest.com.

Maheshwari oversaw most India-related transactions by Ares SSG, the person said.

Cox & Kings

Maheshwari was in the limelight recently for an alleged association with Cox & Kings, the bankrupt travel company facing allegations of fraud and siphoning of funds by the promoter.

Cox & Kings promoter Peter Kerkar, chief financial officer Anil Khandelwal and an agency promoted by Maheshwari are being probed by investigative agencies, according to a report by Moneycontrol.com in October 2020.

Kerkar alleged that an “independent probe” into the accounts of Ezeego had traced Rs 265 crore being transferred from Cox & Kings to a subsidiary and then to the account of Redkite, a company controlled by Khandelwal, Maheshwari of SSG Capital and others, during 2015-19, according to the moneycontrol.com report. In the same report, Ares SSG denied all allegations.

Kelkar and Khandelwal were arrested in October 2020 by Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Maheshwari did not respond to a request for comment.

According to a report by the Indian Express dated April 25, 2020, Yes Bank lent Rs 150 crore to the Cox & Kings subsidiary Ezeego One Travel and Tours, which in turn gave the loan to Redkite Capital, a little known finance company. Redkite used the funds to acquire a 32.8 percent stake in Tourism Finance Corporation of India from IFCI. Subsequently, Redkite raised money from lenders by pledging the TFCI shares, according to the Indian Express report.

Over the past two years, Redkite exited TFCI. At present, Ares SSG Capital Partners has a 9.99 percent stake in TFCI through its fund India Opportunities III Pte, while Sajeeve Thomas has 9.95 percent and Tamaka Capital (Mauritius) has 3 percent. All three are classified as promoters of TFCI, according to the BSE website.