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The marriage of convenience lets private equity funds deploy some of their $20 billion in uninvested capital in liquid holdings at increasingly attractive valuations in a country where buyouts are rare and companies go public early. More such deals are on the way, with at least $750 million being raised by funds that target listed Indian equities. “Unfortunately, Indian companies tend to go public much faster, much earlier in the stage of growth. So yes, India is more conducive in […] With a little over 15 investments and $2.8 billion deployed in the country, it is one of the most aggressive private equity (PE) investors in India. At a time when many have been speculating about Blackstone’s India strategy, ever since it decided to divest its India-focused close-ended mutual fund scheme to Aberdeen, chairman and managing director Akhil Gupta has made it very clear the PE major is in India for the long haul. “The Indian economy is expected to continue to outpace global growth under all probable scenarios by a wide margin for the next 10 years at least,” said Gupta, in an exclusive interview with Business Standard. Gupta, 59, has been driving the India operations of Blackstone, the New York headquartered financial services powerhouse, from its inception six years ago, after a stint with Reliance Industries. […] Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings said on Friday that its India head, Manish Kejriwal, has decided to step down to explore the creation of a new fund in India, the latest in a series of changes in the investment firm's management. The fund will not be capitalised by Temasek, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. “Manish is doing his own thing,” the source said. Kejriwal, the son-in-law of Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto, is teaming up with Sunish Sharma, managing director of General Atlantic, to start a private equity fund, trade publication VCCircle reported on Friday. “Kejriwal and Sharma are likely to raise a fund which will focus on large-sized growth deals,” the publication said, citing three sources. […] Kaizen Private Equity fund, which primarily invests in education service providers, will invest $7.5 million or R35 crore in the Pune-based distance education provider Universal Training Solutions (UTS), a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The investment signals the continuing PE interest in the education sector despite a scandal at Everonn, whose founder and managing director P Kishore was arrested for allegedly bribing an income tax official to hide tax. Its non-executive chairman J J Irani resigned from the board and its executive director Susha John replaced Kishore. Dubai-based Varkey group, which runs schools in several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, the UK and India, played white knight and purchased 12% stake in the company, and will launch an open offer for an additional 20% on November 16. […] A group of Coimbatore industrialists are planning to make their money work for them by setting up a private equity (PE) fund of at least Rs.100 crore. “Right now, most of us have cash cow companies,” said Annush Ramasamy, president of SPM Ltd, which runs some of the textile operations of the diversified nearly-$500 million (around Rs.2,450 crore) KG Group, whose flagship business is yarn and fabric manufacture. “Most of us are wondering where the next growth will come from,” said Ramasamy, who is spearheading the effort to set up the fund. Industry group-sponsored PE funds have so far been “a double-edged sword”, said K. Ramakrishnan, executive director of Chennai-based investment bank Spark Capital, which facilitates private equity investments. […] The Blackstone Group, one of the largest private equity groups globally, is exiting its biggest India-focused close-ended mutual fund scheme: India Fund Inc. The company will transfer the management of the fund to Aberdeen Asset Management Asia. The deal awaits stockholders’ approval on November 16. Another scheme, the Asia Tigers Fund of $60 million, is also being sold to Aberdeen. Besides the change in management, the deal size was not disclosed. India Fund Inc manages $1.22 billion and is managed by senior managing director Punita Kumar-Sinha since 1997 when it was under Oppenheimer. With the closure of the deal, Sinha will also exit Blackstone. “After managing the fund successfully for 15 years, I am content to exit, along with Blackstone. The time is right for me to pursue other opportunities,” said Sinha. […] Venture capital fund Pragati India is looking to raise around Rs 225 crore (USD 50 million) in the next six months, a top company official said. “We have already closed USD 50 million as the initial corpus of the fund and will raise another USD 50 million in the next six months,” Pragati India Fund Managing Director Narayanan Shadagopan told PTI here. This is the first fund from the venture capital firm that focuses on investment in small and medium sector enterprises (SME). “We have not invested in any company so far but are in the process of selecting projects for taking exposure,” he said. […] Small Industries Development Bank of India, or Sidbi, plans to launch three venture capital funds worth 850 crore this fiscal to support small and medium enterprises. “The domestic market for SMEs is buoyant. The funds will support the growth story,” Sidbi managing director S Muhnot told newsmen in Kolkata. The SME sector grew 11% last year. The largest of the venture funds – the India Opportunity Fund – will be worth 500 crore and will be given to SMEs having a good track record. The second one will be worth 50 crore and will be floated to encourage and invest in small units planning to enter the capital market through the proposed SME exchanges. “We will act as a market maker for the proposed SME exchange. So, we will launch the Nominated Investors Liquidity Fund to this endeavour,” Muhnot said. […] Baring Funds that began their investments in Indian entities in 1997, is looking for investment opportunities in the pharma space and could invest up to $ 75-100 million, said Amit Chander, head of investments (healthcare & pharma), Baring Private Equity Partners India. Currently, Baring Private Equity Partners India (BPEP India) has around $50 million invested from active funds in the healthcare space that are spread across 7-8 companies in the country, he added. Some recent investments in the sector include Sphaera (a startup engaged in discovery and development of pharmaceutical drugs) and Shilpa Medicare (manufacturer and exporter of high-quality bulk drugs). Chander, who previously worked in Accenture and Crisil, said that Baring would consider investing in pharma companies focussed on exports in lesser-developed markets, India-focussed businesses that are involved in branded generic products or special pharma businesses. […] After growing nearly 10 times in the past six years—from handling $300 million (Rs.1,395 crore today) of assets in 2005 to $3.2 billion in 2011—IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML), the largest private equity (PE) firm in India, plans to focus on consolidating its position this fiscal even as it is raising three funds. “In 2005, given the growing opportunity base and stability of the PE industry, the strategy was to splice the business and create well-defined funds,” said Archana Hingorani, chief executive and executive director, IIML. Accordingly, IIML grew the business along three business segments—growth private equity, infrastructure and real estate. […] |