"Lehman Brothers, a major American investment banker, has filed paperwork for bankruptcy on 16th September 2008; the largest collapse of an investment firm in 18 years."
The above catastrophe has triggered a plethora of tidings made available on various media channels with almost every other individual discussing about the financial crisis, credit crunch, investment banking, and bankruptcy. This despair is based on the fact that global economies are unable to go unscathed from the repercussions of the financial calamity tipped to become catastrophic in the near future.
The impact on India, of the Wall Street tsunami, can only be marginal thanks to India's regulatory system. However, India as a member of the global economy too is expected to experience the ripples of the crisis, despite reports of it being well insulated. Since the past decade, the potential growth in the Indian economy has been tapped by a number of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), VC/PE investors and by the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. Part of the inflow of investments was also made by the "GLAM" (pun intended) investors i.e. Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, AIG and Merrill Lynch, via their private equity and venture capital entities. Though there are a number of funds involved who have invested in the country, the focus is on these firms on the backdrop of the current crisis.
An insight into the investments and the sectors in which money is parked by each of the GLAM investors is what this report aims to throw light on. GLAM companies have invested approximately USD 5 billion from the period April 2007 to July 2008. Goldman Sachs has the maximum investment in India based on IndiQuest Research's database, followed by Lehman Brothers the main "hero" of the current scenario.
The above catastrophe has triggered a plethora of tidings made available on various media channels with almost every other individual discussing about the financial crisis, credit crunch, investment banking, and bankruptcy. This despair is based on the fact that global economies are unable to go unscathed from the repercussions of the financial calamity tipped to become catastrophic in the near future.
The impact on India, of the Wall Street tsunami, can only be marginal thanks to India's regulatory system. However, India as a member of the global economy too is expected to experience the ripples of the crisis, despite reports of it being well insulated. Since the past decade, the potential growth in the Indian economy has been tapped by a number of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), VC/PE investors and by the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. Part of the inflow of investments was also made by the "GLAM" (pun intended) investors i.e. Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, AIG and Merrill Lynch, via their private equity and venture capital entities. Though there are a number of funds involved who have invested in the country, the focus is on these firms on the backdrop of the current crisis.
An insight into the investments and the sectors in which money is parked by each of the GLAM investors is what this report aims to throw light on. GLAM companies have invested approximately USD 5 billion from the period April 2007 to July 2008. Goldman Sachs has the maximum investment in India based on IndiQuest Research's database, followed by Lehman Brothers the main "hero" of the current scenario.
The financial sector has attracted the maximum investment from GLAM, followed by the real estate sector. Investments have flowed into core sectors of infrastructure, telecom and power/ energy. The inflow of resources has been one of the reasons for the boom in the Indian economy especially in the previous year i.e. 2007.
A brief outlook of GLAM and its individual investments is as follows:
Goldman Sachs
A brief outlook of GLAM and its individual investments is as follows:
Goldman Sachs
The latest information on Goldman Sachs is that it has obtained the backing of Warren Buffett, the world's pre-eminent stock picker and the CEO of US-based Berkshire Hathaway. In addition to raising money from Buffett, Goldman has planned to sell at least USD 5 billion of common stock to the public. This will be the first common stock offering since 2000 from the investment bank who has not reported a quarterly loss since it went public in 1999. Goldman Sachs from April 2007 has focused majority of its PE/VC investments in the financial services sector. In the light of the current turmoil, Goldman Sachs is touted to be the soundest amongst the GLAM. In India, Goldman Sachs employs 100 people.
Lehman Brothers
The entire scenario today has been initiated by Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy protection after collapsing from its exposure to risky sub-prime mortgage securities. Lehman's PE/VC investments have been channelled mainly in the Indian real estate space, a whopping 61 percent of its investments up to July 2008. (Refer below diagram 4). The Indian real estate sector, we believe, will go through some correction due to high interest rates; overall economic stress and Lehman's bankruptcy will impact the Indian real estate players.
The entire scenario today has been initiated by Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy protection after collapsing from its exposure to risky sub-prime mortgage securities. Lehman's PE/VC investments have been channelled mainly in the Indian real estate space, a whopping 61 percent of its investments up to July 2008. (Refer below diagram 4). The Indian real estate sector, we believe, will go through some correction due to high interest rates; overall economic stress and Lehman's bankruptcy will impact the Indian real estate players.
AIG (American International Group)
AIG has been an active investor in India; it has a 26:74 joint venture with the Tatas in the insurance business and also an India-specific fund with exposure in companies such as Reliance, HDFC Bank, Bharati Shipyard, BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd)., Bharti Airtel, and Sun Pharma. The India-focused AIG equity fund has exposures in Infosys, ITC, Bharti, Sun Pharma and ABB. The firm has been salvaged by the US federal government (Fed) with its investment of USD 85 billion in exchange for a 79.9 percent equity interest for a period of two years. AIG, being an insurance company, has invested primarily in the healthcare sector.
The company has equity investments in several Indian companies, including MindTree, AIA Engineering, Bharati Shipyard, Federal Bank and Gayatri Projects. The AIG Group has holdings in Indian small- and mid-cap companies through its holding arms. In terms of shareholding statistics till June 2008, AIG Offshore held a 3.27 percent stake in MindTree, while AIG Trustee held 2.07 percent in Gayatri Projects.
The insurer held a 1.3 percent, 1.14 percent and 2.39 percent stake in AIA Engineering, Bharati Shipyard and Sun Pharma, respectively, through its holding arms - AIG Global Investment Corporation, AIG Trustee and AIG Investment Corporation. The change in AIG's ownership may compel the Indian government to examine holdings by the insurer in Indian companies through its various arms, since the US government would become a shareholder in these companies by getting the rights to stakes held by the insurer (in these firms) prior to the bailout.
Merrill Lynch/Morgan Stanley
Merrill Lynch, Wall Street's third largest investment bank, worth more than USD 100 billion (2007), was acquired by Bank of America for just USD 50 billion. Amongst the GLAM companies, Merrill Lynch has invested across sectors and like Goldman they have maximum PE/VC investments in the financial services sector.
Morgan Stanley raised about USD 8 billion by selling up to 20 percent
stake to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest commercial
bank. The company has been a heavy investor in the country through its
private equity arm. In India, Morgan Stanley, according to industry
sources, employs 400 people.
The above research and analysis is based on the database maintained by IndiQuest Research Services. We provide a comprehensive weekly PE/VC tracker to our clients, called 'IQ VC Pulse', covering the details of the investments in the Indian markets, accompanied by analysis. For further information on the tracker, kindly contact us at indiquest.services@indiquest.co.uk
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