CCI clears private fund investments in Tata Communications, API Holdings
26 Feb 2021
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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of Tata Communications Limited (TCL) by buy-out fund Panatone Finvest Limited, CCI also .approved the acquisition of equity shareholding in API Holdings Private Limited by another buy-out fund CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte Ltd.
The proposed combination envisages acquisition of shareholding not exceeding 26.12 per cent by Panatone Finvest in Tata Communications Subsequently, Tata Group would also increase its shareholding in Tata Communications from 48.87 per cent to a maximum 74.99 per cent.
Panatone Finvest is a systemically important non-deposit taking core investment company registered with the Reserved Bank of India and is a subsidiary of Tata Sons and belongs to the Tata Group.
TCL is part of the Tata group and is a facilities-based service provider of a broad range of integrated communications services. It generates revenue from three business segments - wholesale voice, enterprise and carrier data and others. In India, TCL is, directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, engaged in the following activities:
· International Long-Distance services (“ILD”) – voice;
· National Long-Distance services (“NLD”) – voice;
· Undersea cable systems (“UCS”);
· Internet Service Provider, offering connectivity, messaging, internet telephony; and
· Enterprise business providing valued added services.
Singapore-based CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian institutional fund CDPQ, which manages and serves more than 40 depositors comprising public and private pension and insurance funds in Quebec.
The combination envisages an acquisition of approximately 2% shareholding in the Target by the Acquirer along with certain additional rights.
API Holdings is a company incorporated in India and is the ultimate parent entity of the API Holdings group. API Holdings, either directly or through its subsidiaries, carries out various business activities inter alia including:
(a) wholesale and distribution of drugs (including pharmaceutical products, medical devices and over the counter drugs);
(b) provision of transportation services primarily focused on the pharmaceutical sector;
(c) owning technology and intellectual property for developing e-commerce platforms including marketplaces for facilitating the sale of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and OTC drugs;
(d) manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical, ayurvedic and nutraceutical products, medical devices, hygiene products, life-saving medicines, herbal products and food supplements;
(e) operating and providing an online application which provides a business to business (“B2B”) order management system for retailers and distributors of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and OTC drugs.
