Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of Arcelor Mittal chief LN Mittal, is negotiating with three Indian private equity funds for a sizeable stake as per its larger plans of stepping up investments in India. One of the funds he is negotiating with is run by a prominent Indian business family. The investments in India would be made through his PE fund Swordfish Investments and hedge fund Swordfish Capital Management.
“We are very close to picking up a very substantial stake in an Indian fund, which we would also co-manage. I plan to close this deal by the end of this year and hope that it will propel me into a role of actively managing a fund in India. I am keen on picking up this stake because I would like to have a direct role in taking decisions and not just playing the role of a silent investor,” Mr Bhatia told ET in an exclusive interview.
The deal would also provide Mr Bhatia a foothold in the Indian market and help him launch the group’s operations here. He is of the opinion that the Indian market is very attractive right now given the fact that the US and the European markets are showing signs of slowing down.
While Swordfish Investments is a private investment company focused on public and private equity investments, capital management activities and real estate globally; Mr Bhatia’s hedge fund has a strong bias towards companies that show higher exposure to emerging and developing economies.
Swordfish Investments has, meanwhile, just announced the acquisition of a significant stake in Mood Media Group SA – a $200 m European digital media company that provisions audio, visual and scent identities to commercial establishments.
“The three companies which have been integrated through the deal, have an unique and niche business model whereby music and video services are provided to commercial spaces such as malls and shops through satellite, broadband and hard disk delivery. The other service is that of scent media that improves the ambience of the retail destinations,” Mr Bhatia said.
He hopes to make a foray into the Indian market with Mood Media by the first quarter of next year. Mr Bhatia is also looking at investing into at least two or three other funds in India in the months to come.
“Those will not be majority stakes, but nevertheless I am very excited about personally being a part of the decision making process even in those investments,” he said.
Swordfish Investment is also engaged in acquiring commercial property in India. “While the spiralling rentals make such acquisitions attractive, for my hedge fund I am very upbeat on infrastructure and telecom stocks in India,” he said.
Source: Economic Times