Private Equity

Liquidity Events

Acre ARC buys KKR's debt in Walchandnagar Industries

BSE Announcement   Economic Times  

Acre ARC, controlled by the Singapore-based alternative investment fund Ares SSG, has bought PE firm KKR's share of debt in engineering company Walchandnagar Industries (WIL), allowing KKR to exit the company after selling some pledged shares in the open market. Acre along with a large Japanese investor paid between 35% and 40% to take over the debt of about INR 200 crore which makes up about half of WIL's total debt. KKR had to take a 60% to 65% haircut on its exposure. The Japanese investor will own a majority of the debt which includes some term facilities as well as debentures that carry a high interest rate. The other half of the debt of Walchandnagar is mostly working capital loans from banks. Effectively, Acre holds about half of the company's debt currently.

From the Venture Intelligence PE-VC Deal Database: In May-2017, KKR agreed to invest INR 300 Cr in Mumbai-based, publicly listed Walchandnagar Industries (WI) in a structured-financing deal. The funds were to be mainly used for expansion of its defence business, as the group wants to strengthen its niche expertise.