Eight Capital to buy Banks’ NPLs

Mumbai’s Eight Capital and Emso Asset Management, a London and New York based emerging markets fixed income asset manager, have acquired Ambit Capital’s stake in Ambit Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company.

The acquired company will be renamed J.C. Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company (JCFARC) upon completion of the transaction, said Eight Capital, a distressed and special situations investment manager focused on investing in India.

The JCFARC will be managed by Eight Capital’s team in Mumbai and intends to purchase non-performing loans from Indian Banks in target companies that the team believes have the potential to be turned around through balance sheet restructuring and infusion of fresh capital.

JCFARC anticipates acquiring loans with its own capital as well as on behalf of investors.

J.C. Flowers & Co, a leading private investment firm specializing in the financial services industry, and Ambit launched the ARC in 2016 to invest in the Indian distressed asset market. J.C. Flowers will become the largest shareholder after the transaction closes.

“I am excited to partner with J. C. Flowers and access the firm’s specialized knowledge and deep relationships in the financial services industry across the globe. J.C. Flowers has an established past track record of turning around troubled financials firms with large pools of NPLs which we expect will translate into a substantial advantage for our business,” said Ravi Chachra, Chairman of Eight Capital.

“In addition, Emso will bring its vast experience of investing in emerging markets across geographies and sectors to strengthen the partnership,” he said.

“We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with the principals of Eight Capital and establishing a new relationship with J.C. Flowers in what we believe to be one of the timeliest investment opportunities within emerging markets today,” said Rory McGregor, Chief Operating Officer of Emso Asset Management.

“The senior team at Emso has on average more than 20 years of experience deploying capital in the emerging markets fixed income space and we are fortunate to partner with these two experienced firms to develop a new investment platform in one of the fastest growing emerging markets,” elaborated McGregor.

“With more than 10 years of experience investing in the Indian credit markets, Eight Capital’s deep domain knowledge and strong relationships with market participants makes them an ideal local partner for the JCFARC,” said Thierry Porte, Managing Director at J.C. Flowers.

Eight Capital was founded in 2005 to invest in special situation and distressed opportunities in India. Since its inception, the firm has invested in 14 medium sized manufacturing companies and restructured their NPLs under various Reserve Bank of India schemes such as Corporate Debt Restructuring, Strategic Debt Restructuring and the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code.

The firm was an early entrant in the Indian distressed market has acted as an adviser to members of the bankruptcy law reform committee of India. Eight Capital has offices in Mumbai and Norwalk, Connecticut.

Emso was created in 2000 by a specialized team with deep experience gained in the formative years of emerging market asset trading. In 2013, Emso became an independent, fully employee-owned asset management company after it was purchased by 27 of its employees.

Emso currently employs more than 80 people and manages approximately US$6 billion in client assets across various emerging markets fixed income strategies, including absolute return (offshore and UCITS), liquid alternatives, alternative long-only, and credit opportunities.

Emso’s strategies are jointly managed by a team of research and investment professionals, many of whom have been active in emerging markets investing for more than 20 years. Emso is headquartered in London and consists of Emso Asset Management Limited in London and a wholly-owned subsidiary, Emso Asset Management US LLC, in New York.

J.C. Flowers is a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry. Founded in 1998, the firm has invested more than $15 billion of capital in 55 portfolio companies in 18 countries across a range of industry subsectors including banking, insurance and reinsurance, securities firms, specialty finance, and services and asset management.

With approximately US$6 billion of assets under management, J.C. Flowers has offices in New York and London. fiinews.com