The group is exploring deals in infrastructure, oil and gas, healthcare and power, among others. The company, which till now was buying minority stakes in Indian companies, is now planning buyouts for the first time in the country since 2005.
"We may conclude seven to eight deals in this financial year with a minimum investment of $500 million. We will increase the investments if the right opportunity comes up. About half of the investments planned will go to the infrastructure sector," said Anil Ahuja, the managing director and co-head of 3i's Asian operations.
For the buyouts, 3i plans to team up with four banks, including two foreign banks, to raise debt. The banks are likely to finance two-thirds of the investments in 3i's buyouts, Ahuja told Business
Standard. "If Indian companies can sell out to strategic investors, we do not see any reason why they will not sell to financial investors. The true indicator of buyouts is the increasing activity in the Indian M&A sector,'' he said.
The PE fund, which has done 14,000 deals worldwide, is likely to conclude a deal with an infrastructure company soon and is working on two transactions in the oil and gas sector.
Each deal may cost the fund between $50 million and $250 million. "In case of infrastructure companies, our average investment will be $150 million and for non-infrastructure companies, it will be $50 million to $70 million since infrastructure requires huge investment,'' he said.
Till date, 3i has invested nearly $800 million in the country and its 12 investments include those in Mundra Port, Adani Power, International Tractors, Nimbus Communications, UFO Moviez, Soma Enterprises, among others.
Ahuja said 3i will invest substantially in the country in the coming months since promoters are coming up with reasonable valuations and companies are registering high growth.
