Varun Kapur to head Texas Pacific Indian ops

Texas Pacific Group (TPG), the global private-equity (PE) fund which manages around $20 billion, has named former Intel Capital chief Varun Kapur to lead its investments in India effective this week.

Kapur previously managed the Asia-Pacific investments for Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel.

Vivek Paul, who quit Wipro as vice-chairman in 2005, is one of the partners of TPG, and according to information available it was Paul who head-hunted Kapur.

TPG, which has invested in Chinese companies including PC maker Lenovo, is making serious attempts to boost its presence in China and other Asian markets.

The appointment is significant in terms of the Indian private equity scene, which, in the last 11 months, has seen PE investments gallopping to $4 billion and is expected to double over the next year.

TPG focusses on turnarounds, management-led buyouts and recapitalisations. Recently, it bid for Australian carrier Qantas.