In February, Allianz made its maiden credit investment of $150 million in Kotak Investment Advisors’ 11th real estate debt fund that achieved a closure of $380 million.
European multinational financial services major the Allianz Group’s investment management arm Allianz Investment Management has entered into a partnership with private equity major Kotak Investment Advisors to invest in Indian private credit market.
In February, Allianz made its maiden credit investment of $150 million in Kotak Investment Advisors’ 11th real estate debt fund that achieved a closure of $380 million. Kotak’s real estate fund primarily focuses on financing early- and late-stage real estate projects across geographies in India.
Allianz’ total private credit investments in India so far is worth around $650 million and it is looking to increase it to $1 billion in 2021.
“Kotak Investment Advisors’ partnership with Allianz is indeed momentous not only for us, but also for the Indian alternate asset management industry. As a growth economy, Indian economy’s capital needs are spread across the spectrum of equity and credit,” said Uday Kotak, MD & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
According to him, the partnership blends on the strength of two partners as Allianz brings the much-needed large package of dry powder and Kotak Investment Advisors holds the expertise in identifying the right opportunities as and when they arise in India.
Allianz Investment Management is responsible for steering the over $750 billion investment portfolio of Allianz insurance companies worldwide. It operates as a global network in over 60 countries and is organized in regional hubs located in Munich, Milan, Minneapolis, Paris, and Singapore.
Allianz continues to believe in India’s long-term structural growth story and is keen to partner in post-pandemic recovery and drive sustainable and inclusive growth.
“As one of the largest private debt investors globally, one of our key drivers of success has been our focus on selecting best in class partners. We believe this partnership is a natural fit and will enable us to capitalize on the best private debt opportunities available in India,” said Ritu Arora, CEO & CIO Asia, Allianz Investment Management Asia.
According to Kotak Investment Advisors’ MD Srini Sriniwasan, this partnership comes at an opportune time to address the capital needs in a sector that is turning around.
Last week, Kotak Investment Advisors, through its Kotak Special Situations Fund (KSSF), acquired realty developer Prius Commercial Projects under the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) for Rs 450 crore.
“The real estate players in India are struggling to get access to traditional lending. We believe in the long-term potential of the sector in India that presents a favourable risk-reward ratio for private credit. We are excited to partner with Kotak, one of India’s most trusted investment managers, to provide the much-needed debt capital to accelerate completion of early- and late-stage real estate projects in India,” said Sebastian Schroff, Global Head of Private Debt at Allianz Investment Management.
Kotak Investment Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank, focuses on the alternate assets business of the group. It has so far raised around $4.6 billion across different asset classes including private equity funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, special situations fund, listed strategies and investment advisory.
https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/allianz-kotak-investment-partner-to-invest-in-indian-private-credit-market/81509447
