After KKR, Carlyle and Blackstone, European buyout firm Candover is planning an office in India. The company, which is in the process of raising a E5 billion fund, has roped in Harsha Raghavan from Goldman Sachs to head its India unit. Mr Raghavan was co-head (India) for the principal investments of Goldman Sachs. He was with the company since 2004.
Candover, which has invested more than Euro 46 billion in buyouts in Europe since 1980, primarily focuses on European market with offices in the UK, France, Spain and Italy. Incidentally, it had only recently (Feb ‘08) set up its Asian presence having placed Jamie Paton to head its office in Hong Kong.
Mr Paton confirmed the developments to ET: “Our Mumbai office will come up in the next couple of months. We will have a core team of around 5 people.”
The company is looking forward to investing in China, India and Australia, apart from other Southeast Asian economies. “India is a very important market for Candover, especially in segments like lifestyle, luxury goods, energy, industrial sector and media,” said Mr Paton. Globally, Candover also looks at sectors such as financial services, healthcare and technology.
As a part of its India strategy, Candover will partner local companies to pursue buyouts of European firms. It would also pick up minority stakes in Indian companies looking for expansion in the European markets. Candover focuses on deals ranging from E500 million to E5 billion, and typically looks to commit between E150 million and E500 million to each transaction. However, the firm is not looking at any particular transaction size for Indian companies.
Candover is currently investing out of its three-year-old fund in which it had raised E3.5 billion and is in the process of raising its fresh E5 billion. It has invested in yacht-manufacturer Ferretti Group, Bourne Leisure, Italian fitness equipment company Technogym, Vetco International, Swissport, Camden Motors and MFI besides other firms. Most recently, it had co-invested along with Goldman Sachs in British oil and gas company Expro International.
Candover Investments Plc is an investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange which invests in buyouts across Europe via funds managed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Candover Partners, a European private equity house. Apart from investing money on behalf of Candover Investments, the private equity arm raises funds for buyouts from third parties such as pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, charities and other professional investors.
Source: Economic Times