Notice given by Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd.
Case brief
What is this about?
The Competition Commission of India approved a proposed combination where Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd., a special purpose vehicle of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, acquired a stake in Bandhan Financial Services Limited. The Commission found no appreciable adverse effect on competition.
What did the court decide?
The proposed combination is hereby approved under sub-section (1) of Section 31 of the Act.
What the court decided
A compact analysis
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
Fair Competition For Greater Good
COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA
(Combination Registration No. C-2015/01/243)
5th March 2015
Notice under section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 given by Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd.
Order under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002
- On 30th January 2015, the Competition Commission of India (‘ Commission ’) received a notice under sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Competition Act, 2002 (‘ Act ’) given by Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd. (‘ Acquirer ’), pursuant to a binding term sheet executed, inter alios, between Bandhan Financial Services Limited (‘ BFSL ’ or ‘Target Enterprise’ ), the shareholders of BFSL and the Acquirer on 16th January 2015 (‘ Binding Term Sheet’ ).
- The proposed combination consists of an investment by the Acquirer by subscribing to equity shares of BFSL, constituting approximately 15.14 percent stake in BFSL on a fully diluted basis, and acquiring approximately 2 percent shares of BFSL from Financial Inclusion Trust, which is one of the shareholders of BFSL.
- The Acquirer, a company incorporated in Singapore, is a special purpose vehicle and an affiliate of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. As per the information provided in the notice and other documents on record, the Acquirer has minority investments in two enterprises having operations in India namely, Kotak Bank Limited (‘ Kotak ’) and Edelweiss Financial Services Limited (‘ Edelweiss ’). Another affiliate of GIC also has certain stake in India in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited (‘ ARCIL ’). Edelweiss, Kotak and ARCIL are collectively referred to as the ‘ Portfolio Companies ’.
Issues for consideration
2 issues framed by the court
Whether a proposed combination involving investment by Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd. in Bandhan Financial Services Limited requires approval under the Competition Act, 2002.
Whether the proposed combination is likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
Parties & counsel
- applicant
Caladium Investment Pte. Ltd.
- respondent
Bandhan Financial Services Limited
Case details
As recorded by the court registry
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