US government's development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has agreed to invest $42 million (approximately Rs 263 crore) in Lighthouse Funds' second private equity fund, India 2020 Fund II.
The fund is targeting $125-150 million (approximately Rs 781-938 crore) to invest in mid-sized Indian companies. Lighthouse Funds has backed companies including Bangalore-based biscuit maker Unibic and Rajasthan-based snacks firm Bikaji Foods. The latest fund has received commitments from the International Finance Corporation. The firm's maiden fund was raised in 2008 with a corpus of $100 million.
The board of directors at OPIC has also approved up to $233 million financing for a renewable power project in Southern Kenya. “These first board approvals of the 2015 fiscal year demonstrate OPIC’s broad approach to supporting private sector development in emerging markets,” Elizabeth Littlefield, president and CEO at OPIC said in a press statement.
OPIC has recently backed some other PE funds too, including CX Partners' Mezzanine Fund and committed $100 million in Quadria Capital, which is raising an India and Southeast Asia focused healthcare fund.
In 2012, OPIC committed $100 million for Indospace Logistics Parks, a joint venture between Everstone Capital and Canada-based Realterm Global. The committed fund was received for its second logistics park fund, Indospace Logistics Park-II.
Established as an agency of the US Government in 1971, OPIC has supported more than $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
