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The Competition Commission of India approves the acquisition of shareholdings in Vastu Housing Finance Corporation Limited, APAC Financial Services Limited, and Quantiphi, Inc. by Multiples Plenty Private Equity GIFT Fund under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. The combination involves a newly incorporated trust managed by Multiples Asset Management IFSC LLP. The Commission concludes that the proposed combination does not cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India because the combined market shares for overlapping segments and vertical interfaces remain minimal. The approval is subject to the condition that the order is revocable if the provided information is found to be incorrect.
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COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA Combination Registration No. C-2025/02/1244
8th April 2025
Notice under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 given by Multiples Plenty Private Equity GIFT Fund acting through its investment manager Multiples Asset Management IFSC LLP
CORAM:
Ms. Ravneet Kaur Chairperson
Mr. Anil Agrawal Member
Ms. Sweta Kakkad Member
Mr. Deepak Anurag Member
Order under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002
On 19th February 2025, the Competition Commission of India (Commission) received a notice (Notice), under sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act), given by Multiples Plenty Private Equity GIFT Fund (Multiples GIFT Fund/Acquirer) acting through its investment manager Multiples Asset Management IFSC LLP (Multiples IFSC). The Notice has been given pursuant to execution of inter alia the Framework Agreement inter alia amongst Multiples Private Equity Fund II LLP (Multiples Fund II), Plenty Private Equity Fund I Limited (Plenty), Plenty CI Fund I Limited (Plenty CI), Multiples Alternate Asset Management Private Limited (MAAMPL), Multiples IFSC, and Multiples GIFT Fund on 13th February 2025.
The Acquirer, vide communications dated 5th March 2025 and 19th March 2025 issued under Regulation 14 of the Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2024, were required to remove defects from the Notice and furnish certain information relevant for the purpose of assessment of the combination. The Acquirer made its submissions vide responses dated 12th March 2025 and 25th March 2025.
The Proposed Combination envisages the acquisition by the Multiples GIFT Fund of:
(a) 21% shareholding of Vastu Housing Finance Corporation Limited (Vastu) from Multiples Fund II, Plenty and Plenty CI;
(b) 18.91% shareholding of APAC Financial Services Limited (APAC) from Plenty and Multiples Fund II; and
(c) 17.20% shareholding of Quantiphi, Inc. (Quantiphi) from Plenty and Multiples Fund II.
The Acquirer, a newly incorporated trust, is formed under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and registered with International Financial Services Centres Authority as a restricted scheme (non-retail). The Acquirer is managed by Multiples IFSC, a limited liability partnership incorporated under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. Multiples IFSC is a subsidiary of MAAMPL.
Vastu is a housing finance company. It is the holding company of Vastu Finserve India Private Limited. Vastu, directly or through its subsidiary, is engaged in the provisions of retail loans, viz., home loans and loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), auto loans and loans against property. Vastu has recently obtained the license to operate as a corporate agent for the distribution of insurance products from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
APAC is a Non-banking Financial Company – Middle Layer registered with the Reserve Bank of India. APAC is engaged in the provision of retail loans to MSMEs. It has also recently obtained the license to operate as a corporate agent for the distribution of insurance products from the IRDAI.
Quantiphi, incorporated in the United States, is engaged in, inter alia, the provision of various artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions, and data analytics. Quantiphi is present in India through its subsidiary, Quantiphi Analytics Solutions Private Limited.
Some of the affiliate(s) of the Multiples Group are engaged in provision of loans and lending services in India. Accordingly, the affiliates of the Multiples Group on one hand and Vastu and APAC on the other exhibit horizontal overlaps with regard to loans and lending business in India. Within loan and lending business, they exhibit horizontal overlaps with regards to the retail loans and lending segment, and within retail loans and lending segment, they exhibit horizontal overlaps with regards to auto loans, housing loans, loan against property, MSME loans. In this regard, the Commission observes that the combined market shares for the said overlapping segment and sub-segments is less than 1%.
Some of the affiliate(s) of the Multiples Group are engaged in provision of life and general insurance. Therefore, the insurance distribution activities of the targets exhibit vertical interface with the insurance provision activities of said affiliate(s) of the Multiples Groups. In this regard, the Commission observes that the markets share of the affiliates of the Multiples Group for provision of life and general insurance is less than 1%. Further, the presence of the targets engaged in distribution of the insurance products is not significant.
Considering the material on record, including the details provided in the notice and the assessment of the Proposed Combination based on the factors stated in Section 20(4) of the Act, the Commission is of the opinion that the Proposed Combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India. Therefore, the Commission approves the Proposed Combination under Section 31(1) of the Act.
This order may be revoked if, at any time, the information provided by the Acquirer is found to be incorrect.
The information provided by the Acquirer shall be treated as confidential in terms of and subject to provisions of Section 57 of the Act.
The Secretary is directed to communicate this order to the Acquirer.
