Mumbai-based investment banking firm Inga Ventures (Inga), partners with Singaporean private equity (PE) firm TIH Ltd to launch Rs 125 crore (around $15 million) PE fund “Ekkum TIH Emerging Opportunities Fund” for investing in mid-size enterprises in India, both the companies announced.
The "Ekkum TIH Emerging Opportunities Fund" has received a commitment of Rs 25 crore from sponsors and their affiliates.
The initial size of the fund is targeted at Rs 125 crore with an overall target of Rs 500 crore (about $60 million), the companies said in a joint statement.
A sector-agnostic fund will “approach with positive bias” towards specialty chemicals, FMCG, electronics, food & agriculture and healthcare/pharma.
“The fund will infuse growth capital in mid-size emerging companies operating in niche segment with strong track record and will aim to target companies with a clear expansion and value creation plan,” the statement added.
With experience in dealing with emotions of founders, the fund will tap the best in industries and partner them in their growth journey, according to Inga's founder G.S. Ganesh, a first-generation investment banker.
Mumbai-based Inga was founded in 1999 as a boutique investment banking setup that offers personalized financial and strategic advisory services. “Focused towards the mid-cap segment the company has assisted several companies in their fundraising, capital structuring programs and navigate its exit through mergers and acquisitions,” the company says.
With this background and strong emphasis on family grown SME business Inga Ventures has stepped into the next and logical phase of promoting a PE fund which will invest in such opportunities.
Meanwhile, SGX-listed TIH Ltd, set up in 1994, currently has two business segments – investment business and fund management. Under the former, TIH is involved in special situation investments in both public and private companies, acquisitions of secondary portfolio and non-core assets, private credit, and long term strategic private equity. Under the Fund Management segment, TIHIM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TIH, is a multi-strategy investment manager with current asset under management of more than $1.12 billion in strategies such as special situation, public equity and private equity.
“We are delighted to partner with Inga, a premier and veteran corporate finance/investment banking firm in India with mid-cap segment focus. Their wide reach across the country presents great investment opportunities for us in the middle market space in corporate India,” said Allen Wang, the CEO at TIH.
In the mid-market space, VCCircle reported that TVS Capital Funds is set to raise its fourth fund targeting to raise around $600 million (around ₹5,000 crore).
Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal Alternate Investment Advisors (MO Alts), earlier this month, announced the final close of its fourth mid-market growth capital-focused private equity fund to raise Rs 4,500 crore.
Similarly, mid this year healthcare and consumer sector firms-focused Jashvik Capital launched its maiden fund to raise between $350-400 million and in June, Carpediem Capital crossed the halfway mark for its second investment vehicle after raising nearly Rs 400 crore.
