ChrysCapital looking to raise $300 million to maintain stake in NSE

By Preeti Singh

ChrysCapital Management Co. is looking to raise as much as $300 million for a new fund that will allow the buyout firm to hang on to its minority stake in India’s main stock exchange.
 

The Indian private equity company is working with a team at UBS Group AG for a so-called continuation fund that will give it more time and capital to hold its investment in National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. 

ChrysCapital bought a 5% stake in NSE, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, in 2016. The firm wants to keep its investment until the bourse goes public, a move that’s been in the works for years, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. 

 

UBS declined to comment. ChrysCapital didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. 

Depending on how many investors opt in, ChrysCapital is expected to collect between $250 million and $300 million for the fund, the people said. Plans could still change, including the size of the fund, they said.  

Continuation funds are a portfolio management tool for investment firms that allows them to buy more time and raise money for assets bought through older funds. Typically such processes allow existing investors to either cash out or roll over their existing investment and pump fresh capital into the continuation fund. 

Large buyout firms from Warburg Pincus LLC to KKR & Co. have used continuation funds to hold on to assets in their portfolios, and these processes often dominate transactions in secondary markets, according to a 2023 report from Jefferies. Single-asset continuation funds represented about 40% of the total volume of $18 billion of the fund-led market in the first half of 2023, the report said. 

ChrysCapital is an Indian-focused buyout firm that was established in 1999 and manages more than $5 billion in assets, according to its website. Besides NSE, ChrysCapital also holds stakes in companies like Mankind Pharma Ltd. and Lenskart Solutions Pvt.