Carlyle lines up Rs 3,000 cr for India, China

Global private equity and buy-out firm Carlyle will invest Rs 3,000 crore ($668 million) into high-growth companies in Asia, primarily in India and China.

The firm said it would pump in around $25-30 million (Rs 115-140 crore) into companies which could be actively aided by the group's network of companies in which it has stake worldwide.

"About two-thirds of the fund will be used for India and China and the rest for Japan and Korea," said M Shankar Narayanan, the Asia head for Carlyle's 'growth' funds.

The fund mop-up is the biggest so far in its three-part series of funds dedicated to high-growth companies in Asia, with the earlier ones raising just under half the amount between them five years ago.

Narayanan said that unlike other funds, the particular fund would be looking for companies which already have a good track record, but need scaling up.

"Our intention is not to be a passive shareholder or to just supply money, but also to make sure that the company can significantly benefit by using our existing relationship with other companies outside India," he said, pointing to the auto ancillary, textiles and pharma sectors as examples.

"Our desire to be in India is not just to be part of the growth story. Many of our partner companies abroad are in need of more cost-effective services which they are looking to be outsourced from countries such as India," he added.

The group, with nearly $39 billion (Rs 1.8 lakh crore) under management in its various private equity schemes, already has investments in a handful of companies in India, including pharma company Claris Lifesciences and engineering services firm Quest.

"Besides potential customers and suppliers, we also offer other services to our partner companies such as getting regulatory approvals for their products abroad," he pointed out.

Narayanan also said that the firm does not always insist on acquiring controlling stake in the companies it invests in.

"We believe in having an understanding with the management," he said. Carlyle is registered in India under its Mauritius subsidiary and invests both in listed and unlisted companies.