Warburg Pincus, one of the prolific private equity firms investing in India through global funds, has hit the final close of its financial sector fund at $2.3 billion (around Rs 14,725 crore).
Warburg Pincus Financial Sector Fund was launched in June 2017 with a target corpus of $1.6 billion, the PE firm said in a statement.
It is a companion to Warburg Pincus XII, a $13.4 billion private equity fund that closed in late 2015.
The fund will invest in financial services opportunities sourced through the firm’s global investment platform.
Warburg Pincus has already invested in Indian financial services firms such as AU Small Finance Bank, Capital First, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank, among others. In July, it picked up a 9% stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance for $282.71 million.
The limited partners which have committed to invest in the fund include existing investors in Warburg Pincus’ funds and fresh investors, including public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and high-net-worth individuals.
“Financial services investing has been a large and important contributor to our fund returns over many years and, with this companion fund, we now have additional capital to pursue what we see as growing financial services and financial technology opportunities across the globe,†said Michael Martin, managing director and head of financial Services at Warburg Pincus.
The PE firm invests in the country out of its global fund Warburg Pincus Private Equity XII LP.
Last week, the PE firm agreed to pick up a 20% stake in Bharti Airtel’s DTH arm for $350 million.
Warburg Pincus has more than $44 billion in private equity assets under management. Founded in 1966, the New York-based firm has raised 17 private equity funds which have invested more than $60 billion in over 800 companies in more than 40 countries.
