The Reserve Bank of India has granted conditional approval to Japan's Mizuho for acquiring a controlling stake in Avendus, India's leading institutional financial services firm. According to reports from Moneycontrol, the RBI has approved the transaction with a rider, requiring Mizuho Group to submit a comprehensive plan for consolidating or integrating its other NBFC assets with Avendus in India. A six-month timeline has been granted by the RBI to arrive at the proposed consolidation or integration plan, with ongoing discussions between parties and the regulator to evaluate multiple options within this timeframe.
The acquisition was announced on December 17, 2025, with US private equity firm KKR's affiliate Redpoint Investments selling its majority stake in Avendus Capital Private Ltd to Mizuho Securities Co Ltd for more than $520 million. As reported by Moneycontrol, co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman Ranu Vohra would also divest his shareholding, leading to the Japanese major acquiring over 60% stake in the firm. The deal awaits further regulatory clearances, including from Japan, and has already received Competition Commission of India approval in April 2026. The transaction remains on track despite the additional regulatory requirements.
According to the December 2025 announcement, Mizuho intends to bolster its presence in India through this acquisition, as Corporate & Investment Banking is one of the business focus areas of Mizuho. The Japanese financial services powerhouse aims to provide robust support to clients expanding into the Indian market by combining global expertise with Avendus' deep market knowledge. Avendus, established in 1999, operates across 12 cities in India, US and Singapore, serving as the country's largest investment bank with additional wealth management, institutional equities, and specialized asset management businesses.
Prior to this acquisition, Mizuho Group has made two other investments in India's NBFC sector. In 2024, Mizuho Bank acquired a 15% stake in Bengaluru-based Credit Saison India, the subsidiary of Japan's Credit Saison Co Ltd. Additionally, in 2023, Mizuho Leasing agreed to purchase a 51% stake in equipment leasing company Rent Alpha, which has an NBFC subsidiary called Capsave Finance (now Mizuho Capsave Finance Private Ltd).
The RBI's conditional approval follows a similar pattern seen with other NBFC transactions, as earlier this year NBFC Manappuram Finance received conditional approval from the RBI for investment by US private equity firm Bain Capital. According to Moneycontrol reports, one of the conditions required Manappuram Finance to advise investors to furnish an action plan to the RBI within a specified timeline to ensure there will not be more than one non-banking financial company of the same category within their group with majority shareholding and control. When contacted, Avendus and Mizuho Group declined to comment, while the RBI did not respond to queries at the time of publishing.
