Carlyle Group and PNB Housing Finance deal gets CCI nod

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its nod for the acquisition of equity stake by Carlyle Group and other investors in PNB Housing Finance Ltd. Under the deal, Pluto Investments S.a.r.l. and Salisbury Investments Private Limited would acquire an equity stake in PNB Housing Finance Ltd, where state-owned Punjab National Bank holds a little over 32% stake. According to the official statement, the transaction has been approved by the CCI under the Green Channel. Green Channel, an automatic approval system wherein a combination is deemed to have been approved by the regulator upon the notice filing for the combination by the concerned parties. Pluto, is incorporated under the laws of Luxembourg, and it is a newly established special purpose vehicle that does not have any business activities in India. It is majority-owned and controlled by Carlyle Asia Partners V, all being advised through Carlyle Group Inc affiliates. Carlyle Group is an alternative asset manager globally. Salisbury is a non-banking finance company and is primarily involved in creating investment in financial securities. The deal, announced on May 31, has come under the lens of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) about valuation. The SEBI's directive has been challenged by PNB Housing Finance, and the matter is in front of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which has kept its order. Punjab National Bank, Managing Director, S S Mallikarjuna Rao, said that there was no fault of judgment concerning the fund infusion decision of PNB Housing Finance, and the future action would depend on SAT's order. Image Source Also read: PNB Housing set to raise around Rs 4,000 cr from Carlyle, others