Investcorp, the Bahrain-based global alternative asset management fund, has set a medium-term target of reaching $1.5 billion assets under management (AuM) in India, top executives of the fund have told Arabian Business.
This will be more than three-times the current $500 million assets the Bahrain fund has in India.
In line with its aggressive investment plans in India, the Indian arm of the fund said it would close four private equity (PE) deals in India between this summer and the end of 2020.
While Investcorp has already announced three PE investment deals in India in the recent months, the fourth deal is expected to be made public soon.
Although the $1.5 billion AuM target may be a fraction of Investcorp’s current $30 billion portfolio in 12 countries across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia, the growth would come within one year of opening an office in India.
“We have identified India as one of the key growth markets for Investcorp. International investors, particularly Gulf-based institutions and merchant families, are very keen on Asia’s economic rise, particularly India,” Harsh Shethia, pictured above, head of Investcorp India, told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview.
“India is also strategically important for Investcorp because of the diversification for our investors and value creation potential for our investee companies,” Shethia added.
“Despite Covid-led market dislocation, we will have closed in the summer 2020 to December 2020 period on four PE investments – an Investcorp 40-year record in such a short time by a local PE team.
“This would also be a record in terms of capital deployed by Investcorp in India,” he revealed.
Investcorp began the development of its India market entry strategy in early 2017, when a senior delegation from the company visited the country to meet with key leaders and policy makers across business, government and financial services to understand the market landscape.
The Indian entry plan got a big push when Deepak Parekh, a veteran of India’s financial sector and chairman of HDFC Limited, joined Investcorp’s international Advisory Board
“With Deepak’s active advice and guidance, we fleshed out our market entry strategy for India and on-boarded a team locally in India in 2019,” Shethia said.
As for focus on specified asset classes in India, Gaurav Sharma (pictured below), head of private equity at Investcorp India, said it would be the same as Investcorp globally – private equity, real estate and credit.
“In private equity, we are a growth capital investor, which includes late stage ventures. The sector focus in India is also the same as Investcorp globally – technology, consumer, business services and health and wellness.
“In real estate, our focus so far has been in the residential sector,” he revealed.
So far, Investcorp has invested in nine startup ventures in India – InCred, ASG, Zolo, Citykart, Intergrow Brands, Bewakoof.com, NephroPlus, FreshToHome and XpressBees.
“The focus is on targeting first-generation entrepreneurs scaling up businesses with asset-light models and proven unit economics,” Shethia said
“We expect to see India and the rest of Asia grow at a faster pace at Investcorp in the medium-term,” he added.
Follow us on
