Hyderabad-based Saisudhir Infrastructures Limited, an infrastructure engineering and construction company, has raised Rs 115 crore in its second round of funding from Washington D.C.-based Global Environment Fund (GEF). Saisudhir Infra is an EPC player focussed on sectors like water supply, irrigation, solid waste management and sanitation segment.
Saisudhir raised Rs 48 crore in the first round of funding in 2008 from BTS India Private Equity Fund and VentureEast.
Emails sent to GEF and Saisudhir Infra did not elicit a response at the time of publishing the article.
The new round of funding will help the company to bid for larger projects. It also operates in the power, energy and road segments besides its focus areas. The firm now has an order book of Rs 1,000 crore over the next 12-18 months. Over the last three years, Saisudhir Infra has transformed from being primarily a sub-contractor on large infrastructure projects to a prime contractor, which is a relatively higher margin business.
Saisudhir Infra has worked on projects for companies like IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects Ltd and Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board. Other clients include GAIL (India) Limited, NTPC Limited and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
According to a CARE ratings report, Saisudhir Infra grew at a CAGR of about 118% from FY’07 to FY’09. The firm had revenues of Rs 242 crore in FY09 as compared to Rs 91 crore in FY08. The FY10 numbers were not available.
GEF, which has been investing in clean energy assets since 1990, has over $1 billion in aggregate capital under management. It is also setting up a South Asia Clean Energy Fund in partnership with Yes Bank, which is aiming to raise around $200-300 million.
GEF has also invested $46.3 million in Greenko plc, an Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed clean energy firm in 2009. Greenko is an independent power producer focusing on renewable energy generation in hydro, wind energy and biomass-fired plants. GEF was also an investor in electric car maker Reva, where automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) acquired a 55.2% stake last year.
