Though private equity (PE) players in India are in a wait-and-watch mode, a few of them are ready to explore the opportunities from which they can reap amid turmoil. Reliance Equity Advisors Ltd (REAL), the PE arm of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is betting big on the secondary deals in the PE space in India. Through these deals, which are not common in India, a PE player can buy the investment or stake, which was earlier primarily done by another PE firm.
Previous, in the buoyant market, exits through initial public offer (IPO) route were common. As the situation worsens, companies are keeping aside their IPO plans, which made the exits for PE players difficult. In 2007, about 95 IPOs were floated, out of which 16 PE players made exits. However, this year, out of a total of 36 IPOs, only about nine PE made exits.
Ramesh Venkat, CEO, REAL, told FE, “There will be immense potential forthe secondary deals in the recent future in India as more players are waiting to exit as early as possible due to the decreasing valuation or their diminishing commitments to India. Global financial crisis is also a major reason for players wanting to exit at the earliest.”
REAL will invest in sectors such as logistics, realty, pharma, media & entertainment with investment size ranging from $25 million to $50 million. Its first deal is expected to take place early next year.
Arun Natarajan of Venture Intelligence said, “The funds which are closer to ending their life term can be sold out to other PE firms to liquidate much faster as IPO route for exit is found to be difficult nowadays.”
ADAG, the anchor investor, will invest about 20% in the fund. However, Venkat refused to disclose the exact figure of the fund. He said, “No specific figure can be said at this time. We are in talks with a number of investors and details are yet to be finalised. We hope to do the first closure in first quarter of 2009. The investments will be done simultaneously as the fund grows,” adding, “We are interested in sectors with high domestic demand and where consolidation opportunities are more.”
According to Grant Thornton, in October, 12 deals with an announced value of $372 million took place as against 16 deals amounting to $600 million in the month of September 2008. The total number of PE deals during the first 10 months of 2008 stands at 274, with value of $9.67 billion as against 328 deals amounting to $13.43 billion during the same period in 2007.
Source: Financial Express