Tight liquidity conditions may have dented private equity (PE) investments in large corporates, but closely-held family businesses in India are increasingly bringing in PE firms as strategic partners, backed by a growing trend among promoters that valuations need to be more realistic.
Volume of PE deals in mid-sized family businesses has been growing sharply, according to senior executives of various PE firms. Most of the deals are in the process of being signed and are confidential. In the listed-entity sphere, PE investments could be in the $14 billion to $16 billion range, according to research firm Four-S Services. The research added that there have already been 84 PE/venture capital deals worth nearly $4.1 billion in the first two months of 2008.
PE firms such as Blue River Capital, Blackstone, Clearwater Capital, Citi group, Axis PE, Keynote, Edelweiss Capital, SSKI Investments are some firms that have been involved in deals with various family-run businesses. “Such businesses are more professional now,” said Blue River Capital managing director Muneesh Chawla. “In India, PE funds have emerged as a growing option for funds as the young generation in business families are open to bringing in PE funds as strategic partners,” he added.
Blue River has already completed seven deals with family run businesses, investing over Rs 250 crore in firms such as KPR Mills, Wilson Sandhu Logistics and Rane Holdings. Tight liquidity conditions, after the financial crises in the US, made PE investment difficult in most regions, as promoters demanded higher valuations following the equity boom. But 2008 would be different, according to Four-S, as “valuations are now reasonable after the 20-25% market correction so far.”
The weakness in Indian equity markets could benefit investors as funds can be deployed at lower valuations. Promoters raising money will have to contend with more realistic valuations which will take a while for them to adjust to, said Four-S. Currently most companies are quoting below-the-price average, stipulated by Sebi.
Approximately, 20% of the investments by PE funds are small stakes in listed companies. Another 20% involves substantial stakes in listed companies while the remaining 60% is invested in unlisted companies. In all cases, PE funds differ from mainstream FII investment in two respects: investment horizon and involvement.
Source: Economic Times