CCI Greenlights GICs Increased Stake in Data Infrastructure Trust

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC's proposed acquisition of additional unitholding in Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT).

About Data Infrastructure Trust

Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT) is a Sebi-registered Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) that provides passive telecom infrastructure services. The US-based Brookfield Asset Management is the sponsor of DIT.

GIC's Acquisition

Valkyrie Investment Pte and Anahera Investments Pte, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of GIC, will acquire the additional unitholding in DIT and consequent rights in BIP India Infra Projects Management Services (BIP IndiaInfra).

BIP Infra is the investment manager for DIT and will primarily manage the operations and investments of the InvIT.

CCI's Approval

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the deal under the green channel route. The regulator also gave its nod to Valkyrie and Anahera for the acquisition of preference shares and certain rights in BIF IV Jarvis IM Holdco Pte (Jarvis IM HoldCo).

Jarvis IM HoldCo was recently incorporated solely for the purpose of simplifying the governance structure of DIT.

No Competition Concerns

Pursuant to the proposed transaction, no horizontal, vertical, and complementary overlaps arise between the activities of the GIC Group entities and the targets DIT, Jarvis IM HoldCo, and BIP India Infra.

The transaction does not raise any risk of an appreciable adverse effect on competition in the plausible relevant market, the competition watchdog said in a notice on Thursday.

Green Channel Route

Therefore, the proposed transaction is being notified under the green channel route. Under the green channel route, a transaction that does not raise any risk of an appreciable adverse effect on competition is deemed to be approved on being intimated to the fair-trade regulator.