InCred forays into asset management business with Vishuddha Capital buy

Financial services platform InCred said it has acquired equity focused alternative investment fund (AIF) Vishuddha Capital Management to enter the asset management business.

The asset management unit will be headed by Punita Kumar Sinha, former CIO of Blackstone Asia Advisors, according to a statement.

This is InCred Capital’s third acquisition since November 2019. The firm bought unsecured loan platform Qbera from parent Ant Creditex in June at a valuation of $10-$15 million. In November 2019, it acquired the Dubai business of L&T Capital, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Group, marking its entry into the wealth management business.

The acquisition of Vishuddha adds an important element to the wealth and asset management product suite within InCred Capital, Bhupinder Singh, CEO of InCred, said. 

“I have been impressed by Aditya’s passion and vision for the business and I am looking forward to working with him and his team to take this business to new heights,” he said.

Founded in 2016 by former Deutsche Bank executive Bhupinder Singh, InCred has made several acquisitions over the past year to expand its business. Currently an NBFC lending to retail customers, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the company aims to become a full-stack financial services provider.

Founded in 2018, Vishuddha Capital was founded by Aditya Sood, former fund manager at ICICI Prudential AMC. The firm provides investment management services through its equity AIF, called The India Value and Growth Fund I.

“We are looking forward to joining the broad based InCred Capital platform, which will provide significant synergies for Vishuddha’s business,” Sood said in the statement.

The firm, which received Rs 500 crore in a debt round in July, has raised Rs 1,000 crore in equity capital so far from investors such as Dutch Development Bank FMO, Moore Capital, Investcorp Bahrain and Oaks Capital, along with early investors including Ranjan Pai of Manipal Group and former Deutsche Bank CEO Anshu Jain.