Reliance Equity Advisors, the private equity (PE) arm floated by Anil Ambani's Reliance ADAG, is in a new avatar now. The fund, acquired by Reliance Equity Advisors' CEO Ramesh Venkat, through a first-of-its-kind management buyout in Indian PE space, has come out with a new name - Fairwinds Private Equity.
Currently, Fairwinds Asset Managers manages Reliance Alternative Investments Fund - Private Equity Scheme I, a $200-million fund raised in 2009-10. Reliance ADAG had invested 20 per cent in the first fund.
According to people in the know, Fairwinds will launch a $350-million fund by early next year with an investment size of $20-40 million per deal. The new fund will focus on companies in India engaged in domestic consumption, services, manufacturing and infrastructure allied businesses.
The first priority of Fairwinds is to make exits from eight of its past investments and return the fund to its investors in a time span of two years. As part of it, Fairwinds is in the process of exiting two of its investments - chemical manufacturer VVF Limited and education services provider Pathways.
The fund's leading investments include Shankara Infrastructure Materials, a multi-store chain that sells infrastructure materials; Max Flex and Imaging Systems, the maker of digital printing related goods; and, cookware maker Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances.
When contracted, Ramesh Venkat, founder and managing partner of Fairwinds Asset Managers, refused to comment on the development. Fairwinds has retained the same team at Reliance PE. The nine-member team includes three partners, five directors and a chief financial officer.
Sanjeev Krishan, leader (private equity) at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India, said: "We'd expect fund raising for India to be relatively easier over the next couple of years, than it has been over the previous two years. Global LPs need to be convinced about the India story all over again. They have been noticing the changes the new government has been setting in motion, but actual implementation of some of these is significant."
In the wake of bullish markets, a handful of general partners (GPs or fund managers) are trying their luck with a second round of fund-raising. Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a PE firm floated by Renuka Ramnath, is in process of raising its second fund of $500 million. Multiples had raised its maiden $405-million fund in 2010. Former Citi Venture head Ajay Relan-led CX Partners, which raised $515 million in its maiden fund, is looking to raise a $400-450-million second fund. PE firm Everstone Capital, which has launched Everstone Capital Partners III LP, is raising $600 million.
Amol Jain, former managing director of TPG Capital India, is also reportedly floating a $500-million first-time fund.
There is a marginal growth in new funds size in 2014, where $3 billion has been raised till date through 28 funds against 36 funds in 2013 with a corpus of $2.9 billion.
