Promethean Raises India Focussed SPAC

The founders of the UK-listed investment firm Promethean have raised a $200 million special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Atlas Acquisition Holdings in the US, the largest ever SPAC targeted prominently at India.

Atlas Acquisition Holdings raised $200 million (Rs 800 crore) through the American Stock Exchange, the hub of global SPACs.

Though the SPAC does not mention in its offer document any geography or sector it would target, it is understood that Atlas is looking at businesses which have an India story. According to sources in the merchant banking industry, Atlas would eye a minimum deal value of around $500 million which could include funds raised by it as a SPAC and would be backed by debt. However, Atlas could even scout for bigger deals which could go upto $1 billion in enterprise value.

Atlas is led by its chairman & CEO James Hauslein, along with Gaurav Burman, part of the Dabur Group and also a key member of Promethean India. Promethean India is an AIM-listed investment firm with a corpus of $115 million, which targets Indian companies to pick small private equity stakes.

The funds raised by Atlas are large, even by US standards where SPACs size in general is around $100 million or lower. As per the data compiled by US-based investment banking firm CRT Capital, out of the total 142 SPACs raised in the US till early February 2008, only 30, including Atlas, raised $200 million or more.

As reported in Economic Times

London-based PE fund Promethean Investments initiates Promethean India with the Dabur Group; appoint ex-ITV chairman Peter Burt

Sir Peter Burt, ex-chairman of ITV, will become chairman of Promethean India, a new India-focused private equity fund, a spin-off of the Promethean private equity vehicle run by his son, Michael. The new fund will be listed on London Stock Exchange's AIM market and is understood to have investors such as Bank of Scotland and Alliance Trust. Insinger de Beaufort has been appointed advisor to the company.

Promethean India will become the latest in a string of companies to tap the London markets for cash earmarked for India. It will be run by Mohit Burman, a member of the Dabur Group, which houses the Burman family's business interests, such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and retail.

Mohit's brother, Gaurav, plays a senior role at Promethean Investments in London, and will also be involved in the running of Promethean India, which will be based in offices in Delhi and Mumbai. The fund is understood to have a pipeline of potential deals. It will also target Indian firms in need of operational or financial restructuring and others which are domestically focused but which have potential for international expansion.

Read the article in The Telegraph.