Faces tough competition due to the presence of players such as Blackstone.
Shweta Jalan, the newly-appointed director of private equity firm Advent International, is in an enviable position as she discusses her firm’s India plans sitting in her Worli office overlooking the Arabian Sea.
But given that she is in the midst of setting up the PE player’s operations in India, with only a secretary and office boy at her disposal, the task is not easy, especially with a host of players already in India.
Jalan is the second appointment that Advent has announced in India. Before her, the quarter-century-old firm had said that former Axis Bank Chairman and CEO P J Nayak would join as an operating partner, to help scout for investment opportunities.
“Globally, we have 60 operating partners, who are sector experts and help us manage the investment. Given his experience, Nayak will contribute immensely in the financial services space,” says Jalan, who calls herself a buyout expert having worked on deals such as Tata Infoline, Ace Refractories and VA Tech Wabag during her nine-and-half years’ stint at ICICI Venture.
While a couple of directors and associates will join Jalan to scout for investment opportunities, Goerg Stratenwerth is due to take over as Advent’s India partner. There are a few other senior executives who are getting acclimatised at Advent’s London office, but Jalan in not disclosing their identity just yet.
While Advent has raised $24 billion globally, its only investment in India is a stake in Computer Age Management Services (Cams), the Chennai- ve the ability to get a board seat, should be able to change the management, if need arises, help in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and financing,” she says.
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While the investment will be from the over $10-billion GPE VI fund that focuses on Western Europe and North America, Jalan says that the idea is to invest upwards of $50 million. “There is no specific India allocation. We have just been told that you do the deals we have the money. We are sector agnostic,” she says. So far, Advent has invested around 15 per cent from the fund raised last year.
Though it will be early to expect a deal in 2009, Jalan says that chemicals, building material and some segments of the financial sector offered good opportunity.
With players such as Blackstone, KKR, Warburg Pincus and Carlyle also looking for investment opportunities in India, industry players say, Advent faces tough competition. “The good news is that activity is picking up, but the bad news is that valuations are also rising,” admits Jalan, adding that there are few value buys because of the tough competition.