Private equity firm Everstone Capital has made a first close of its second private equity fund, Indivision India Partners II, at $250 million last week. Indivision, which is looking to raise up to $550 million for the second growth capital fund, started fundraising early this year after breaking away from Future Capital Holdings. The fund could be expecting a final close towards the end of this year.
According to sources close to the development, Everstone managers are also investing $15 million in the second fund, thus 'putting their skin in the game.' The fund, which was launched in January 2010, is expected to be closed by end of this year.
Everstone is raising funds from only overseas limited partners (LPs) as opposed to the recent norm of raising funds from both domestic and foreign LPs simultaneously for the fund. It is learnt that about 15 limited partners from North Amercia and Europe invested in Everstone’s $250 million first close.
Sameer Sain, managing partner, Everstone Capital could not be reached for comments.
Indivision India Partners I, the first fund worth $425-million, was raised in 2006. It has made two exits from 17 overall investments made so far from Indivision India Partners I. It has already deployed 80% of the first fund, with the latest coming as part of a consortium in Asian Genco.
Meanwhile, four of the senior team members in Everstone Capital have been elevated to the position of partners. Jaspal Singh Sabarwal, the Managing Director in the operations team, Dimple Sanghi, a Managing Director of the investment advisory team, P M Devaiah, the General Counsel and Dhanpal Jhaveri, the Managing Director, have been promoted as partners with Everstone Capital. Shishir Baijal, CEO and Managing Director, Everstone Real Estate is also a partner with Everstone. Sameer Sain and Atul Kapur, former Goldman Sachs executives, are the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Everstone Capital.
Apart from Indivision India Partners I, other funds managed by Everstone include Horizon Realty LLC, a $350-million fund, closed in 2006, which invests in retail-led real estate including integrated shopping, leisure and entertainment destinations 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 India Partners I has exited from Capital Foods Ltd and Lilliput Kidswear Ltd. Its major investments include Pan India Food Solutions Pvt Ltd ($30 million), Centrum Capital ($27 million), Global Hospitals Ltd, Tops Security Ltd, Sula Vineyards and Regen Powertech.
Last year, in a major restructuring exercise, Future Capital Holdings (FCH) was divided into separate businesses with private equity business being spun off as Everstone Capital and non-investing businesses such as insurance, retail financial services and wholesale credit under FCH.
With a recovery in the global markets, more and more Indian PE firms are in the process of fund-raising. VCCircle had reported that Blue River Capital was in the process of raising its second fund-Blue River Capital II, a $200-million offshore fund following its partnership termination with Edelweiss Capital. ICICI Venture, the private equity arm of lender ICICI Bank, plans to launch a $500-million fund and a Rs 1,000-crore real estate fund this year. Similarly, Indiareit Fund Advisors, promoted by the Piramal Group, is in the process of raising Rs 750-crore Indiareit Domestic Fund Scheme IV including green shoe option of Rs 250 crore. IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML) also plans to raise its latest sector-agnostic fund, Tara India Fund IV at $400 million. Motilal Oswal Private Equity Advisors Private Limited, the PE arm of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, also plans to raise its third fund- India Business Excellence Fund (IBEF) 2- of Rs 1,500 crore.