After IT and telecom sectors, special economic zones (SEZ) have caught the fancy of private equity (PE) companies, with most firms looking at acquiring a minimum 10 per cent stake in SEZs. Global PE firms such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Blackstone Group, Lehman Brothers and others have already initiated talks with domestic real estate companies that are setting up these zones. Not to be left behind, Indian PE companies such as Kshitij Real Estate Funds (a Pantaloon Group company) and HDFC Realty are also scouting for opportunities in this sector. Even though no deals have been signed so far, the industry expects some to come through in the next two to three months. “Real estate developers setting up SEZs are getting a lot of queries from investment companies. This sector being a booming one, companies are looking at making an investment that could yield returns at a later point in time,” said Ashutosh Pathare, vice-president (commercial sales and business development) of the real estate company, Shapoorji Pallonji. […]

Several private equity (PE) groups are creating funds exclusively for investing in clean technology in India, adding momentum to a sector where no funds currently exist. These groups include the Nevada-based Arvco Capital Research Llc., Washington, DC-based Global Environment Fund, Hyderabad-based New Ventures India, New Delhi-based Sun Group and Mumbai-based Yes Bank Ltd. These are in addition to the increasing number of PE funds chasing the same segment from their general funds. The capital pool is estimated at $500 million (Rs1,970 crore), not including the general funds, which is almost equal to the sum of all disclosed investments in Indian clean technology from 2001 until now. The funds could close in the next nine months to three years and would be deployed over the next one to seven years. Interest in India is strong as many perceive the country as having the right talent fordeveloping technology and the additional incentive to do so be-cause of its growing power needs—and shortages. […]