ICICI, IL&FS, Kotak groups - India's leading financial service & banking conglomerates have acquired 3.55%, 5%, 1% equity stake respectively in Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), the country's biggest commodity exchange, from Financial Technologies at an enterprise valuation of USD 1 - 1.1 billion.
Congratulating ICICI Venture and MCX on this equity deal, Mr. K. V. Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank Limited, said "I am happy that ICICI Venture is partnering with Financial Technologies in its highly successful MCX venture. FT is creating next generation financial markets within India and globally, where the benefit of technology and price transparency empowers the masses to benefit from globalization. It is our philosophy to partner with growth-oriented companies that seek to leverage technology and the power of markets for economic transformation, and this investment is a great example of such a partnership."
"The strategic tie-ups underscore the global acknowledgement of MCX as a strategic player on the world's commodity stage. ILFS participation to the list of shareholders in MCX highlights the direction which Indian commexes are taking towards further adoption of global best practices and infrastructure development and speaks for a quality team and the professionalism in executing a world class project from conception to a benchmark in itself." observed Mr. Ravi Parthasarthy, Managing Director & CEO of ILFS.
"Kotak's India Growth Fund is pleased to be an investor in MCX. We value MCX's vision of converting India into global hub in major commodities in the economy. Over the last few years, commodities futures market in India has experienced an unprecedented growth in terms of the number of modern exchanges, commodities allowed for derivatives trading and the value of futures traded. Among all this, MCX has demonstrated leadership by creating a scalable and technologically sound commodities trading exchange" said Mr. Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
Mr. Jignesh Shah, Managing Director & CEO, MCX, said, "This milestone is a testimony of the quality of the institute we have built, in and from India where the global and domestic best have converged."
Some of the other shareholders in MCX include Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, Fidelity International, HDFC Bank, Merrill Lynch, National Stock Exchange, NABARD, State Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Saurashtra, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd. and Union Bank of India.