Manish Kejriwal's decision to quit Temasek Holdings after seven years makes him the latest in a growing list of high-profile private equity (PE) executives quitting their comfort zones to branch out on their own.
He has teamed with Sunish Sharma, managing director at General Atlantic Partners, to float a new PE firm. Kejriwal, now 43, handled investments worth $3 billion in India since 2005, a year after he joined Temasek.
Some who quit and set out on their own have burnt their hands, but there are quite a few success stories. For example, Renuka Ramnath and Ajay Relan have successfully raised funds in a short span of time. Ramnath, former CEO, ICICI Venture, quit in 2009 to set up her firm, Multiples Alternate Asset Management. Relan, former MD at Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI), floated CX Partners. Another CVCI managing director, P R Srinivasan started Exponentia Capital.
Rajesh Khanna, former MD at private equity major Warburg Pincus, quit last year to launch Arka Capital. Last year, Rajeev Gupta, MD, Carlyle India, also resigned from the company.
According to the partner of a PE advisory firm, Kejriwal’s exposure to countries apart from India will be an advantage for his fundraising initiative. “Apart from his key role in the sovereign fund, his expertise in the cycle of investments and a few successful exits may bring confidence among LPs (limited partners or investors),” he added.
According to a recent Bain & Company study, about 120 PE funds seeking to raise approximately $34 billion in 2011 are currently on the road in India.
Charles Daugherty, managing partner, Stanwich Advisors Llc, a US-based placement agency, said, "The market for fundraising remains very competitive in traditional markets such as the United States and Europe, as well as in emerging markets. The macro opportunity in emerging markets, particularly China, India, and Latin America, is clearly compelling to investors.
At the same time, the fundraising market for Indian general partners (GPs or fund managers) is more difficult today than it was in 2007 and 2008, with a higher number of GPs competing for less capital."
| MOVING ON | |||
| Name | Previous Job | New Fund | Status (raised amount) |
| Renuka Ramnath | CEO, ICICI Venture | Multiples | $400 mn |
| Ajay Relan | MD, Citi Venture | CX Partners | $500 mn |
| PR Srinivasan | MD, Citi Venture | Exponentia Capital | — |
| Rajesh Khanna | MD, Warburg Pincus | Arka Capital | — |
| Jayanta Banerjee | Director, ICICI Venture | Pravi Capital | — |
| Subbu Subramanian | Partner, Baring PE | MCap Fund Advisors | — |
| Harsha Raghavan | MD, Candover India | Steer Capital | Wind up |
Temasek has closed quite a few big-ticket deals in India since 2004, when Kejriwal took over the leadership. Married into the Bajaj family, he joined Temasek after spending nine years at McKinsey & Company as a partner.
