By Kosaku Narioka
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is buying a majority stake in an Indian non-bank financial company from a Temasek Holdings portfolio company for about $2.0 billion in a bid to capture growth in India’s financial services.
The Japanese financial company said Tuesday that it had agree to acquire an about 75% stake in Fullerton India Credit Co. from Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte., wholly owned by Temasek.
Sumitomo Mitsui said it plans to eventually acquire 100% of the Indian financial company.
Sumitomo Mitsui said Fullerton India had a strong pan-India distribution network of more than 650 branches and offers loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, the self-employed and mass-market customers.
Sumitomo Mitsui said that through this investment, it can gain a retail finance platform in India, which is essential for its expansion strategy in Asia.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
