Anil Ambani Group's venture capital arm Reliance Technology Ventures (RTVL) aims to seal 3-6 deals by June, a top company official said.
"On an average, we have invested in around 3-4 companies every year in the past three years. This year, we scent an immense potential and are hopeful of sealing 3-6 deals in the next six months," RTVL Chief Executive Officer Harshal J Shah told PTI here.
Besides the traditional technology and tech-enabled companies, RTVL would focus on clean tech and energy, defence and aerospace, financial services and media-related companies. Since its inception in 2006 the company invested mainly in technology and tech-enabled companies.
"While 2009 was a rough year for entrepreneurs, 2010 should be a good one. Both investors and entrepreneurs are more realistic now and we should be able to get fair valuations," Shah said.
"Fortunately for us, our portfolio companies' valuations not only went up but we also took a significant market share away from competitors and as a result the economic downturn has been a boon for us," he said.
While the potential of cleantech and energy companies is obvious, RTVL scents a tremendous potential in aerospace and defence, where, Shah said: "Our technology is reaching a critical mass. Indigenous technology will emerge and its commercial exploitation potential is huge. With government impetus to this segment, we see a great potential here."
The Anil Ambani group firm which has invested in 11 firms so far (investing close to a total of $100-million), is also eyeing financial services, especially the payment gateways segment. "Here security is a big issue. With billions of dollars of transactions taking place, security companies will come up giving us huge investment opportunities," Shah said.
"We are also eyeing product companies in the fixed income segment. The corporate bonds market is set to grow and players here are also our target," he said.
RTVL aims to be among the top three VC firms in the world by 2014 with a global footprint. "We plan to set up offices abroad beginning with the US over the next two-years," he said.
The company will also up its deal size from the present $1-15 million depending upon investee companies' requirements. Its strategy to capture pole position globally comprises of upping deal size, expanding partnerships, acquiring a global footprint, increasing the valuations of its portfolio companies and finding extraordinary opportunities lying untapped presently, he said.
