TOKYO (Reuters) – Providence Equity Partners Inc. is opening offices in Hong Kong and New Delhi to support its growing investment activities across Asia, the U.S. private equity firm said in a statement on Monday.
Andrew Rickards, chief executive officer of investment bank N M Rothschild & Sons in Asia, will join Providence Equity as a managing director based in Hong Kong and will lead the firm's Asian investments.
Biswajit Subramanian, a managing director of Providence Equity in London who joined the firm in 2000, will head the new office in New Delhi.
“Providence has been active in Asia for some time, and we are fortunate to have built strong relationships with proven managers and investors across the region,” said Jonathan Nelson, chief executive officer of Providence Equity.
Providence Equity bought a 15 percent stake in Indian wireless operator Idea Cellular Ltd in October 2006.
Providence is in the process of raising a $12 billion buyout fund, roughly triple the size of its previous fund, according to industry sources. The firm declined to comment on the fund.
Providence invests mainly in the media, telecom and technology sectors, and is based in Providence, Rhode Island, the home of Brown University, where Nelson and several other top executives at the firm attended college.