India Value Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd is close to investing about Rs 90 crore in New Delhi-based UEM Group, which specialises in water & waste water collection, treatment and disposal.
Just two days back, Chennai-based Aqua Designs India, a leading water and waste water treatment company in South India, announced that it had raised Rs 55 crore from Peepul Capital Fund II LLC.
UEM, which started in the early 1970's, has a team of over 170 professionals with offices in the United States, Trinidad, Dubai and New Delhi. It is said to have annual revenues of around $100 million.
UEM Group has designed and installed over 300 water and waste water treatment plants across the globe and implemented projects for many multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, Bristol Myers Squibb, Tietex Limited, Toray Nylon, Kuruwita Manchester, American & Efrid, Birmingham Steel and United Breweries as well as projects funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and Caribbean Development Bank.
When contacted, Vikram Nirula, partner, IVFA, said, "We are not in a position to share information regarding our investments." Separate mails sent to UEM and Sunil Rajan, who heads the Indian operations, did not elicit any response.
India Value Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd., one of the most experienced private equity firms in India, has $1.4 billion under management across four funds. IVFA, formerly known as GW Capital Pvt. Ltd manages four funds-India Value Fund I ($35 million), II ($175 million), III ($400 million) and IV ($725 million). It has investments in companies such as Innovative B2B Logistics, DM Healthcare, Mahindra Castings etc. It had exited from investments such as HDFC Bank, Care Hospitals, Fame India and Biocon Ltd.
In 2007, Doshion Ltd., another water management company in India raised Rs 35 crore from IDFC Private Equity Fund II, a fund managed by IDFC Private Equity.