Mizuho to acquire Avendus from KKR at $700 million valuation

Mumbai: Mizuho Financial Group is set to acquire KKR-backed Avendus Capital, valuing the homegrown investment bank at Rs 6,000 crore ($700 million), ending months of protracted negotiations with several twists and turns, said people aware of the matter.

Mizuho Group CEO Masahiro Kihara is scheduled to visit the country later this week for official engagements and a formal announcement is due at that time, they said. Kihara is also director of Mizuho Financial Group Inc.

Mizuho and KKR, along with the senior leadership of Avendus, agreed on final deal terms in the last few days, even as private equity group Caryle, the only other serious contender in the fray, was circling the prospect.

The deal will mark the biggest investment by Mizuho in India, underscoring the increased strategic interest of Japanese financial groups in the country.

Last month, SMBC picked up a strategic stake in private sector lender Yes Bank.

The transaction will include KKR exiting its entire 60% stake along with some of its earlier, high-net-worth individual investors and Ranu Vohra, as well as small shareholders, including local PE firm Gaja Capital. Vohra is one of the three founders of Avendus. Once completed, the transaction is likely to see the Japanese mega bank owning up to 70% of the investment bank.In 2015, KKR paid Rs 950-1,000 crore to pick up a controlling stake in Avendus Capital Pvt Ltd (ACPL) from Eastgate Capital Group Ltd and Americorp Ventures, early investors in Avendus via Singapore-based Red Point Investments Pte Ltd. The firm was founded in 1999 by three friends — Vohra, Kaushal Aggarwal and Gaurav Deepak. Other than Vohra, the other two are likely to remain invested and continue to run the company, retaining full operational control, though Mizuho will have veto rights.One of the hottest domestic deal shops in the country, Avendus operates in the financial services space through subsidiaries in financial advisory, capital markets, wholesale financing through Avendus Finance, wealth management and alternative asset management. The acquisition of Spark in 2022 led to the addition of institutional equities to the offerings.

Avendus is present in 10 cities in India, the US and Singapore. A little over half of its profits before tax in the first nine months of 2025 came from the investment banking division, followed by credit solutions and institutional equities.

ACPL posted a total consolidated income of Rs 1,035 crore and net profit of Rs 170 crore for the nine months to December 2024, against Rs 1,012 crore and Rs 118 crore, respectively, in FY24.

Upon exit, KKR is expected to make a blended 3.5x return in rupee terms over a nine-year period.

KKR and Avendus declined to comment. Mizuho India country co-head Piyush Aggarwal did not respond to ET’s queries.

In the past year, several PE funds and family offices had evinced interest in acquiring the business, including TPG Capital, TA Associates and Azim Premji family office PremjiInvest. Even Nomura, originally chosen to manage the stake sale process, threw its hat in the ring but eventually only Mizuho and Carlyle were left to compete.

The mandate subsequently moved to Rothschild.

“There is a small difference in the valuation between the two but Mizuho brings a far larger strategic play and adds heft in cross-border transactions,” said an executive in the know.

For several investors, the inherent cyclicality associated with the investment banking business was a challenge. The acquisition of Spark has supported profitability through its equity capital market (ECM) products.

“While the group reported strong performance in investment banking in fiscals 2022 and 2023, it was impacted in fiscal 2024 with extended deal completion timelines,” said a March Crisil credit report. “There was some revival in fiscal 2025 with the nine-month revenue from IB (investment banking) surpassing the full fiscal 2024 revenue… The ongoing diversification in business should support profitability over the medium term.”

One of Japan’s largest financial institutions, Mizuho bought boutique investment bank Greenhill & Co in a $550 million deal in 2023, betting that the struggling group could help kickstart its ambitions in the US. The third-largest Japanese lender said it aims to sell “strategic” shareholdings — stocks held to cement ties with corporate clients — worth at least ¥350 billion over the next three years through March 2028 amid the slump in long-dated Japanese bonds.

Mizuho Bank, the banking subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group Inc, has had a presence in India for over 25 years, with five branches catering primarily to corporate clients. It has been looking to ramp up its local presence and hired private equity veteran and former India head of KKR Sanjay Nayar as external senior advisor to Mizuho Bank India. The parent has infused about $500 million (Rs 4,100 crore) into its India bank branches. Last year, Mizuho invested $145 million for a 15% stake in credit card issuer Credit Saison’s Indian subsidiary Kisetsu Saison Finance (India).