Public market focused private equity firm Nalanda Capital has picked 1.5 per cent stake in kitchen appliances maker TTK Prestige, the flagship of southern India-based TT Krishnamachari group of companies, for Rs 47 crore ($7.7 million).
The stake was picked through a market transaction where an existing investor Columbia Acorn Trust sold shares.
This is the second such public markets focused PE firm to pick a stake in the company. Last year, emerging markets-focused investment firm Cartica Capital had picked a minority stake in TTK Prestige through a mix of preferential allotment and share purchase from existing shareholders including the promoters.
Cartica Capital, set up by former IFC (International Finance Corporation) executives, invested Rs 106.5 crore in TTK Prestige through a preferential allotment. At the same time it bought shares worth Rs 124.25 crore from the promoters in mid-2013. It later hiked its holding through more share purchases and its total bet on the company is estimated to be over Rs 310 crore ($50 million), making it the single largest bet on the appliances sector by a PE firm.
TTK Prestige share price has shrunk significantly since the time Cartica invested in the firm.
The latest deal also marks another transaction where Cartica and Nalanda have recently become co-investors in the same firm.
Few weeks ago Cartica had picked a stake in Page Industries, a maker of Jockey brand of innerwear for the Indian subcontinent. Nalanda Capital is an existing investor in Page Industries.
