Private equity investors continue to chase India's domestic consumption story. In the latest deal, IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd has invested Rs 100 crore in the laundry services business of listed FMCG player Jyothy Laboratories Limited. Jyothy Fabricare Services Limited (JFSL), which has started operations in Bangalore, will raise the funds in two tranches, reports Moneylife.
An email sent to IL&FS to confirm the development did not elicit a response at the time of publication of this article.
Jyothy Labs, which owns brands such as Ujala and mosquito repellant Maxo, has had experience with PE investors before. The firm had raised funding from emerging markets PE major Actis. The PE firm made Rs 160 crore from its Rs 80 crore investment back in 2004.
According to a presentation to its investors, JFSL has started operations in Bangalore market with an initial investment of Rs 40 crore. The company plans to target retail and institutional customers like airlines and hotels, besides door-to-door services. It will operate under Fabricare and Snoways brands. Jyothy Labs pegs the current demand of outsourcing laundry at Rs 5,200 crore. It will also set up a plant with a capacity of serving 40,000 garments a day. It also plans to expand to other cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.
IL&FS PE, which makes general private equity investment from its $225 million Tara India Fund III, invested Rs 100 crore in retail chain The Mobile Store, part of the Essar group. The fund, which has invested $164 million across 11 deals, also backed Karuturi Global earlier this year.