PremjiInvest, the $ 1 billion private equity fund, floated by Azim Premji, the owner of India’s third largest software services exporter Wipro Technologies, is understood to be closing in on a couple of emerging construction companies to pick up stakes. Industry sources indicate that Chennai-based Rs 1,500 crore Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited (CCCL) is among the companies which are on the radar for PremjiInvest.
PremjiInvest prior to this is understood to have picked up stakes in nearly 50 companies including public and private through secondary markets as well as by acting as a growth equity and as venture capital partner. Companies which this fund has invested range from a wildlife resort developer to cancer care hospital chain to bargain retail chain besides some other established listed firm such as ABG Shipyard, Himatsingka Seide and Dish TV among others.
Industry sources indicate that PremjiInvest is likely to take the secondary market route to accumulate equity in CCCL, which during last year went public. This decade old firm which has completed close to 20 million sq feet of construction has a strong pipeline of projects across services encompassing construction, Engineering, Procurement, and Project Management by putting up IT Parks, Biotech Parks, Resorts and Hotels, Commercial, Industrial & Institutional structures and Infrastructure facilities.
In the recent past, PremjiInvest took on board Sudip Banerjee, a Wipro veteran of more than two decades as a Director who will actively guide the fund in its investments.
This fund was floated by Azim Premji, fashioned on the lines of Family Offices made famous by Rockefeller, Rothschild and Ford among others in the United States. Given the stature of Azim Premji and his investment acumen, a host of private equity funds and Fund of Funds are understood to be lining up to be a Limited Partner in this fund. “There is immense interest from global funds, but given the cash pipeline Azim Premji has, these funds may have to wait longer to be a part of this fund,” noted a PE industry player.
