India-focused private equity Peepul Capital LLC said on Wednesday it had raised $214 million
for a second fund and was looking at sectors such as manufacturing and logistics.
Peepul, formerly iLabs Management, has been investing in Indian companies since 2000. It has a total corpus of $325 million, with investments in technology, media and consumer product firms.
“Our aim is to build on existing capabilities as well as continue to explore new domains,” Managing Director Sandeep Reddy told reporters at a news conference.
The fund, which has sold investments in Internet firm Sify Ltd. and news agency Indo-Asian News Service, usually looks for deals of $5 million to $30 million but is open to larger holdings, he said.
It currently has investments in more than a dozen Indian companies, Reddy said, but did not give details.
Industry tracker Chennai-based Venture Intelligence estimates private equity investments in India will rise by a third to about $10 billion in 2007.
There were 47 private equity deals in July and August totalling $2.36 billion, compared with 60 deals worth $1.08 billion in the same period last year. (ET)