The transaction is the first investment that the American private equity investor has made in India from its new $13 billion global private equity fund, GPE VIII.

Advent International has acquired a significant minority ownership interest in ASK Group a leading investment and wealth management business in India, for an undisclosed sum.

ASK Group’s founders will retain a majority stake in the company and the management team will continue to lead the business.

The acquisition is Advent International’s third investment in India in the past two years following the purchase of equity stakes in Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and QuEST Global Services.

“With its deep sector expertise and global resources, Advent can bring significant value to help us increase productivity, broaden our range of services and expand our international presence,” said Asit Koticha, chairman and founder of ASK Group. “ASK has well-respected investment managers, and we believe it is strongly positioned to enhance the value it offers to customers by expanding its reach, products and services,” added Shweta Jalan, managing director and head of India for Advent International.

The move comes at a time when India's wealth management sector is seen offering relatively robust growth over the next few years. Earlier this week, Sanctum Wealth Management, the firm created recently by investors who took on the India wealth arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, said the wealth management sector in India will expand by 17 to 18 per cent per annum over the next few years. (See article here.)

As of September 30, 2016, Advent International managed $42 billion in assets, while ASK currently manages of assets of over INR29,480 crore ($4.4 billion).