On December 20, 2019 The Competition Commission of India (CCI), obtained 3 Green Channel Combinations under automatic approval. The approval was done under the sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) read with regulation 5A of the Competition Commission of India, Regulations, 2011.
3 combinations that received approval:
i.Combination 1: 100% acquisition of both IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) Asset Management Ltd (IAML) and IDBI MF Trustee Company Ltd (IMTL) by Muthoot Finance Ltd (MFL).
- MFL: MFL is a non-deposit taking NBFC(Non-Banking Financial Company). It provides secured and unsecured loan against gold jewellery to individuals and companies.
- IAML: The IAML will act as an asset management company to IDBI mutual fund(MF).
- IMTL: the IMTL will act as trustee company of IDBI MF in India.
- IDBI: Industrial Development Bank of India(IDBI) has a 100% stake in IMTL.
ii.Combination 2: 25.1% Acquisition of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) and Adani Electricity Mumbai Services Ltd (AEMSL) by Qatar Holding LLC (QH) from ATL (Adani Transmission Ltd). The stake was sold for around Rs 3,200 crore
- QH: Qatar Holding(QH), a Foreign Portfolio Investment(FPI) Company registered under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It is an investment holding company of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
- AEML: It is a licensee for power distribution, transmission and business generation.
- AEMSL: The AEMSL, provides captive services to AEML and ATL.
iii.Combination 3: Acquisition and control of GVK Airport Holdings Ltd(GVKAHL) and its subsidiaries by Green Rock, NIIF and Indo-Infra. The subsidiaries of GVKAHL are Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and Navi Mumbai International Airport Private Ltd(NMIA).
- NIIF: The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIF) is an alternative investment fund which focuses to provide loans to infrastructure sector.
- Indo Infra: It is a holding company and is a part of the PSP group which is established by the Canadian Parliament under the Public Sector Pension Investment Board(PSPIB) Act.
- Green Rock: It is a trustee of Green Stone Trust. It has made investments in India but it is to be noted that it does not carry any business activities directly in India.
- GVKAHL: It an affiliate of GVK group and it is intended to engage in the business of developing infrastructure facilities in companies that directly or indirectly involve in developing, operating and managing airports.
About CCI Green Channel:
Fact1- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has introduced the automatic system of approval for combinations under ‘Green Channel’. Cost of transactions and time will be reduced under this system.
Fact2- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) or combinations above a certain limit are required to have mandatory approval from the trade regulator. Thus the green channel was formed to provide transparent and speedy review of combination cases.
