Mumbai, Feb 23: AMP Henderson Global Investors, Australia's largest financial services company has entered into a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with IndAsia Fund Advisors (IFA), the private equity advisory company headed by Mr Pradip Shah. The JV, which will comprise a team of about 10 members from both companies, will manage a $75 million India specific private equity fund. AMP is the lead investor in this fund with a contribution of $25 million. Another $15 million has been raised from IFC Washington. The remaining funds are being brought in by two investors, one in Asia and another in the US according to Mr Sanjiv Kapur of AMP Henderson Global Partners. "The investors have already committed to the funds but we are unable to disclose names since the paperwork is still on," added Mr Kapur.The fund will focus on providing growth capital for companies rather than startup or first stage funding says Mr Kapur. "The principle factor in the investment is the scalability of the business. This becomes particularly significant since sole dependence on capital markets as the exit is not safe. Foreign strategic partners present a good exit option but this is difficult unless you have a scalable operation," he explained.
The average deal size will be in the region of about $10 million since Mr Kapur says that smaller deals result in substantial clutter from the portfolio management perspective. "We will consider much larger deals which fall in the $50 million plus range as well since our investors have deep pockets and we can scale the fund up to $500 million," said Mr Kapur.
Dwelling on the sectors that the fund would consider for investment, he said: "We will look for consolidation plays in media and telecom, expansion plays in IT services and selective opportunities in the financial sector."
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
