Private equity firm Neev Fund, which is backed by State Bank of India and the UK’s Department for International Development, has invested in waste management company Blue Planet.
Singapore-based Blue Planet Environmental Solutions Pte Ltd operates in India through a wholly owned unit. It provides waste collection services and processes thin-film plastic waste as well as organic waste.
“Blue Planet has demonstrated a unique advantage in the waste management business by successfully introducing global waste management technologies in India,” Manav Bansal, CEO at Neev Fund, said in a statement. He didn't disclose the amount of investment.
The investment comes a month and a half after Blue Planet acquired Pune-based Rudra Environmental Solution (India) Ltd.
According to the statement, India generates more than one lakh metric tonnes of solid waste every day. Demand for organised waste management enterprises in the country is growing thanks to the government initiative such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and regulatory push on solid waste management regulations, the statement said.
In a significant deal in the segment, private equity giant KKR agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Hyderabad-based waste management company Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd for $530 million in August.
Neev Fund
The infrastructure-focussed private equity fund's mandate is to invest in the eight low-income or developing states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The PE firm, which was launched in 2015, focuses on sectors such as renewable energy, road, agricultural supply chain including warehouses and cold storages, urban infrastructure like water and sanitation as well as waste management, besides healthcare and education.
The fund is managed by SBICAP Ventures Ltd, a unit of SBI.
In April, Varsha Purandare, managing director and CEO at SBI Capital Markets Ltd, had told VCCircle that Neev Fund was looking to mark the final close at Rs 500 crore by June.
The fund has made several investments till date, including in Leap India Food and Logistics Pvt. Ltd, which is promoted by the family of former Formula One racer Narain Karthikeyan.
It has also backed solar power solutions provider SunSource Energy, integrated cold chain logistics service provider Crystal Logistic Cool Chain Ltd, Milk Mantra Dairy and United Sustainable Energy.
