Everstone Capital, the private equity arm of Kishore Biyani-owned Future Capital Holdings, is on its way to raising its second fund, Indivision India Partners II, with a corpus of $550 million.
Indivision India Partners I, the first fund worth $425-million, was raised in 2006. ?The second fund, to be raised fully from offshore investors, is expected to be closed in three months,? Sameer Sain, managing partner, Everstone Capital and vice-chairman, FCH, said, adding that the early response for Indivision II has been strong.
Meanwhile, a couple of investments made from the first fund, including Lilliput Kidswear, VLCC and BE Billimoria & Company will enter the market soon, Sain told FE, so as to allow Everstone to partially exit from them.
Last month, in a major restructuring exercise, Future Capital Holdings (FCH) was split into two separate businesses with PE business being spun off as Everstone Capital and non-investing businesses such as insurance, retail financial services and wholesale credit remained under FCH. Following the changes, the investment business is being run by Sameer Sain, while the non-investing financial business is managed by Kishore Biyani.
The fund-raising environment in India is changing in a big way, said Sain.
Everstone, which has invested $300 million out of Indivision I in 16 firms, is looking to invest the remaining in two to three deals in sectors such as consumer goods and infrastructure. Indivision-I hold about 22-26% stake in firms such as Lilliput, VLCC and BE Billimoria. VLCC is looking to float Rs 100 crore IPO this year. Apart from Indivision India Partners I, other funds transferred under Everstone include Kshitij Venture Capital Fund, a $ 90 million domestic fund that invests in developing retail destinations in India, Horizon Realty LLC, a $350 million international fund that invests in developing integrated destinations for shopping, leisure and entertainment, Indus Hotel Ventures LLC, a $200 million international hotel fund that will invest in building business hotels across the country, and Indospace Logistics Partners, a logistics fund being raised through a joint venture with Realterm Global, a leading North American industrial real estate investment firm. Indivision’s other portfolio companies include Sula Vineyards, Regen Powertech, Global Hospitals and Blue Foods Restaurants.
As the global markets started limping back to normalcy, more money is expected to flow into the private equity space. On Monday, Aditya Birla Capital Advisors, the PE arm of Aditya Birla group, announced the closure of Aditya Birla Private Equity-Fund I at Rs 675 crore, the target being $250 million. Other major India-focused PE firms, which are expected to close their first funds in 2010 include Avendus PE (Rs 1,000-crore), Reliance Equity Advisors (Rs 1,500 crore), Multiples Alternate Asset Management ($400 million or around Rs 1,800 crore) and Akansa Capital ($400 million).
Globally, a total of $246 billion was raised by 482 funds worldwide in 2009, down 61% from 2008. The fourth quarter of 2009 represented a low point for the year, with only $35 billion raised by 75 funds-the lowest quarterly total since the third quarter of 2003, according to research firm Preqin.