Vistra Group marks India entry with IL&FS Trust acquisition

Mumbai: The Hong Kong-based Vistra Group Ltd on Monday said it has acquired IL&FS Trust Co. Ltd, India’s largest independent corporate trust services provider, for an undisclosed amount.

The group declined to disclose deal details.

Vistra Group provides solutions to international corporations, trust, fiduciary, fund and corporate services. It has presence in more than 30 countries.

With this acquisition, Vistra Group will gain a foothold in the Indian corporate services market, enabling it to expand the platform to provide a broader suite of corporate and fiduciary services, the Vistra Group said in a statement.

ITCL, founded in 1995 as a subsidiary of IL&FS Group, one of India’s leading infrastructure development and financial services groups. It caters to full range of debt market issuances, including debentures, bonds as well as deposits, term loans, external commercial borrowings and private equity.

Navita Yadav, chief executive of ITCL, will stay on as managing director of ITCL, the statement said.

“Vistra has been looking for some time to enter the Indian market, which we see as a key emerging market for our range of services, and ITCL provides the perfect fit. They are a quality organization with large market share and a total focus on client service,” said Martin Crawford, chief executive of Vistra Group.

ITCL, registered by the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a licenced trustee, has significant market share in the area of debenture trusteeship and alternative investment funds, Vistra Group said.

ITCL has a large business network with corporates and intermediaries across all major business cities in India, serviced by their offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.

“We’re happy to have brought into India, Vistra Group, which is among the top four global trust business players. The divestment of IL&FS Trust Co. is in line with the overall IL&FS Group strategy of recycling of capital and deployment into core infrastructure businesses,” said Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS Ltd.

The acquisition has approval of all regulatory authorities in India, Vistra Group said. Laws in India mandate all issuers of listed bonds and debentures to appoint an independent trustee to safeguard investor interests.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.