The Competition Commission has approved Axis Bank’s proposed acquisition of Citi’s consumer business in India, one of the largest deals in the country’s financial services space.
Under the deal worth Rs 12,325 crore, announced on March 30, Axis Bank would take over Citi’s credit cards, personal loans, and wealth management businesses that are focused on the affluent segment.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the regulator said it has cleared the “acquisition of Citibank, N.A.’s and Citicorp Finance (India) Limited’s undertakings comprising of their consumer banking activities by Axis Bank”.
Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval of the CCI, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors.
Tishman Speyer pact
Axis Mutual Fund will launch a Rs 1,500 crore alternative investment fund to part finance commercial realty projects under the partnership with US realtor Tishman Speyer.
These projects will be developed across eight major metros.
The partnership will invest in early-stage or greenfield commercial real estate projects across the Mumbai region, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune,Ahmedabad and Calcutta, Axis AMC said in a statement on Tuesday.
Since its inception in 1976, the New York-based firm has acquired, developed and operated a portfolio of over 217 million sq ft with a total value of over $126 billion, spread over512 assets globally.
Tishman will be the exclusive development manager of the projects that will be executed under the partnership, and will not have any equity participation, said AshwinPatni, head of products and alternatives at Axis Asset Management.
