Venture debt firm Alteria Capital Advisors LLP has raised Rs 100 crore ($14.9 million) from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for its maiden venture debt fund, which had marked its first close last month.
“We have got a sanction from SIDBI. It is a validation for our track record,†said Vinod Murali, co-founder and managing partner, Alteria Capital.
SIDBI has invested through its fund-of-funds, which had also backed other venture capital firms such as Kae Capital, Pi Ventures and Stellaris Venture Partners.
Alteria Capital had received an approval for its offshore feeder entity in Mauritius a few weeks back, Murali said, adding that it will allow the company to formally start discussions on fund raising abroad.
The venture debt fund had marked the first close of its debut fund with commitments of Rs 356 crore in early March.
Ajay Hattangdi and Murali had floated Alteria Capital in 2017 after quitting Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings-backed InnoVen, as its chief executive officer and deputy CEO, respectively.
The fund had received regulatory clearance last October. Registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a category-II Alternative Investment Fund, it has a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore ($154 million), including a greenshoe option of Rs 200 crore.
The fund, which has already made two bets, is expected to make the final close in the second half of this year.
The venture debt firm had made its first investment in ready-to-cook food startup Fingerlix earlier last month, and followed it up with a Rs 30-crore infusion into Sachin Tendulkar-backed celebrity fashion firm Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd.
Venture debt as a segment is on a steady rise in India even as venture capital activities witness a slowdown. Other major players offering debt funding to early-stage companies in India include Delhi’s Trifecta Capital Advisors, Bengaluru-based Capital Float, Northern Arc Capital of Chennai and Ahmedabad-based Lendingkart.
