| 3i India Infrastructure Fund, part of the London-based private equity and venture capital company 3i Group Plc, has invested $101 million (about Rs 404 crore) for a minority stake in Hyderabad-based engineering and construction firm Soma Enterprise Limited. |
| Soma Enterprise Director Ankineedu Maganti and his family will continue to hold a majority stake in the company. This is the second investment made by 3i in India. |
| The fund had in October 2007 invested $227 million for a minority stake in Adani Power, a subsidiary of Adani Group, marking its first investment in India. |
| Soma Enterprise, with an order book of over $1.6 billion, specialises in multi-disciplinary engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts across segments such as roads, irrigation, hydropower and urban infrastructure. |
| The 10-year-old company is increasingly concentrating on developing build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects and already has a portfolio of BOT investments, which it plans to expand significantly over the next few years. |
| This second investment by 3i is a good example of the opportunity the Indian infrastructure market affords, and Soma Enterprise is well-placed to be a major BOT investor, Michael Queen, managing partner and head of 3i’s infrastructure business, said. |
| “With activity and investment in Indian infrastructure increasing dramatically, the engineering and construction space will continue to exhibit robust growth. Soma, as a high-quality business with a fine track record of executing complex infrastructure projects ahead of schedule and below budget, is ideally positioned to capitalise on this growth. We are impressed with what Maganti and his team have achieved so far and are committed to supporting Soma achieve its aggressive growth plans,” Anil Ahuja, managing director and co-head of 3i Asia, said on the transaction. |
Source: Business Standard