The Hindu Business Line : IDFC Private raises Rs 1,900 cr for 2nd fund

(From left) Mr Luis Miranda, President & CEO, IDFC Private Equity Co. Ltd, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Chairman, and Dr Rajiv Lall, Managing Director & CEO, IDFC, at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday. - Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai , April 6

IDFC Private Equity, the private equity arm of Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), has raised Rs 1,900 crore ($430 million) in its second private equity infrastructure fund `IDFC Private Equity Fund II'.

The first fund, which closed in 2004, was for Rs 840 crore ($190 million) and is fully invested in various infrastructure-related companies.

About 75 per cent of the commitments for the second fund came from overseas investors including, Mizuho Corporation of Japan and German development bank KfW, officials told presspersons here on Thursday. The entire amount in the first fund had come from the domestic financial institutions and banks.

"We are extremely pleased to raise such a large pool of capital for infrastructure in India. Investors have been impressed with the team and advisors, the IDFC platform, the sector and the quality of deals in the first fund," said Mr Luis Miranda, President and CEO of IDFC Private Equity.

Mr Rajiv Lall, Managing Director and CEO of IDFC, said the successful completion of the fund raising exercise for its second fund "reiterates that the IDFC platform is the leading platform for infrastructure in India''.

He said till now IDFC was focused on debt, private equity, listed equities, investment banking and advisory. "We are now in the process of adding more products to our platform to address the entire range of financial requirements of our clients," he said.

Eyeing infrastructure projects

The fund is looking at equity participation in infrastructure projects with a time frame of about 5-7 years, Mr Lall said.

Dr Vijay Kelkar, Chairman, IDFC Private Equity, said he was optimistic about the growth of infrastructure sector in the coming years. "If India is to attain double-digit growth rates, it is imperative that infrastructure in India sees major improvements. IDFC Private Equity seeks to play a catalyst role in this development," he said.

Some of the investments made by IDFC's first private equity fund include, GMR Energy, Gujarat State Petroleum (which had its IPO recently), Hotel Leelaventures, Chalet Hotels and Gujarat Pipav Port.

Of this, the fund has fully exited from Hotel Leelaventures and partly from Gujarat State Petroleum, said Mr Prakash Karnik, Executive Vice-President, IDFC Private Equity.

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