ChrysCapital closes its $700 million continuation fund in India

ChrysCapital on Tuesday closed its $700 million continuation fund, which will allow the private equity firm to hang onto its stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which it first bought in 2016.

HarbourVest Partners, LGT Capital Partners, and Pantheon Ventures have invested in the continuation fund which acquired the stake in NSE from previous funds of ChrysCapital.

A continuation fund helps investment firms hold onto assets bought through older funds by raising fresh capital from investors. As PE and venture funds are usually pooled investment vehicles and have to give exits to investors based on the tenure, a continuation fund helps to keep certain assets in a new fund and allow existing investors to either cash out or roll over their present investments.

ChrysCapital had bought a 5 per cent stake in NSE in 2016.

The stake originally belonged to ChrysCapital VI. The PE firm wishes to continue as a significant and long-term shareholder of the exchange, it said.

In 2016, NSE was valued at around ~18,000 crore. The bourses valuation now has gone past ~2 trillion.

The NSE has been planning an initial public offering but needs approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The exchange’s board will also be mulling over a bonus issuance in its board meeting scheduled on May 3.

The NSE continuation fund at $700 million is the largest CV transaction in India and one of the largest single-asset CV transactions across Asia Pacific. The transaction was completed in two months with a number of existing investors across ChrysCapital’s funds indicating strong interest to participate.