Kotak Private Equity Group (KPEG), part of the Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd (KIAL), has investing about $50 million in five unlisted life sciences Companies in India during the financial year 2008-09. Kotak's investment has been divided in Companies focused on clinical research, contract research and new drug delivery systems (NDDS).
Apart from its life sciences fund (Kotak India Venture Fund 1) of $68 million, KIAL has raised two other funds of $160 million (India Growth Fund 1) and $415 million (Kotak India Growth Fund), with its cumulative fund under management is to the tune of $1.4 billion. It has also decided to raise $1 billion infrastructure fund during the financial year and will invest in sectors such as power and transportation.
Nitin Deshmukh, CEO, private equity, KIAL, told FE, “Though the Companies where we wanted to invest are small, new molecules and drug delivery systems developed by them have high potential.” So far, KPEG has invested about $50 million in various small-sized life sciences Companies in India such as Metahelix Lifesciences Ltd, VLife Sciences Ltd, Indus Biotech and Rubicon Research by picking up 20-25% stake in each company.
KPEG, an arm of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has invested about $10 million each in Hyderabad-based Heritage Foods and in Intas Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (IBPL) of Ahmedabad. It also bought majority stake in Siro Clinpharm, a Mumbai-based clinical research firm, last year.
The other Companies where KPEG has invested are Paramount Airways Private Ltd, Dynaspede Integrated Systems Ltd , where KPEG holds the majority stake. Home Solutions Retail India Ltd, INX Media Private Limited, Bharat Fritz Werner and Sabare International Ltd.
Source: Financial Express