Atherstone India Invest (AII) is raising two India-dedicated funds. These would include an infrastructure fund of $1 bn and an exclusive real estate fund of €250 mn. The funds will be partnered by European pension funds and insurance companies that are increasingly hungry for India's infrastructure and real estate sectors. AII is an asset management and business advisory firm dedicated to European and Indian cross investment businesses.
AII is a joint venture between the Mumbai-based Atherstone Group and India Invest, a firm based in Switzerland. AII is promoting commercial ties between India and Europe through India-focused funds, business consulting and merger and acquisition advisory. Atherstone Group is a two-year old global investment banking firm with an India focus. The real estate fund will be raised by March-end, followed by the infrastructure fund. The real estate fund is an open-ended fund; it will keep raising funds and deploying them in various projects.
The infrastructure fund will target a judicious mix of infrastructure service companies, technology-based vendors and project development companies. Target firms would be mid-market Indian firms having turnover up to $30 mn. Infrastructure service companies could include those engaged in toll road management, billings and collections in the power sector, demand-side energy management, logistics, and water conservation. However, AII is likely to avoid project development companies, except in sectors that offer higher returns, and where limited funds leveraged with project finance can have an impact. Similarly, technology-based vendors could include specialized vendors in railway signaling, automated tolling, electronic power meters, solar applications, energy efficiency, and pollution control.
The real estate fund will focus on townships, special economic zones (SEZs), large commercial projects and also Tier-II cities like Hyderabad and Pune. UK-based asset management group Belgravia Financial Services will help AII in risk management and asset management process.
Article in The Economic Times.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment