Piramal, CDPQ form $300-mn credit vehicle

Canadian investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Piramal Asset Management Pvt. Ltd have formed a $300 million special purpose vehicle (SPV) to explore financing opportunities in India.

CDPQ will contribute 75% of the investment and Piramal Asset Management, a unit of Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL), will commit the remaining 25%.

The SPV will offer private credit solutions to companies across various sectors, including manufacturing, consumer, industrial, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and logistics.

“This platform aims to leverage the significant market opportunity for alternative pools of capital to provide valuable solutions in the private credit space,” said Ajay Piramal, chairman, Piramal Group.

Earlier this week, Piramal had said in a post-earnings analyst call that it aims to forge co-investment opportunities with foreign investors and banks to strengthen the wholesale lending portfolio.

CDPQ, an existing investor in PEL, recently put in ₹1,750 crore in its compulsory convertible debentures. It had also participated as the anchor investor during the company’s previous capital issuance, investing $175 million of the total issue size of $750 million. CDPQ’s real estate subsidiary, Ivanhoé Cambridge, had earlier committed $250 million towards a co-investment platform with PEL to provide long-term equity to residential developers.

“Piramal Enterprises is a like-minded partner with a solid market position and deep knowledge of India’s industry and financial sector. This is another opportunity for CDPQ to work with the best partners in a market where we see many possibilities over the long term,” said Anita M. George, executive vice-president and head of strategic partnerships, growth markets, CDPQ.

The partnership will look to invest in companies with a scalable business model that have demonstrated strong execution capabilities, robust cash flows, a validated repayment history with lenders, and require capital to support the continued growth of their businesses, said Khushru Jijina, managing director, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd.