The Hindu Business Line : BTS India Private Equity Fund launched

Piggybacking on the success of Swiss Technology Venture Capital fund (Swiss Tech Fund), BTS Investment Advisors (BTS-IA), on Tuesday, launched the $80-million `BTS India Private Equity Fund' that will invest in medium-sized companies in India.

Investors to this private equity fund include the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (through Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets-SIFEM), which committed $12 million, Asian Development Bank with an investment of $15 million, Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and International Co-operation and Development Fund (ICDF - Taiwan) — both investing to the tune of $5 million.

Investment Commitments

"Apart from these investors, the fund has received investment commitments from several high net worth offshore investors and family offices in Europe and Asia," said Mr Alastair Guggenbuhl-Even, Chairman, BTS-IA.

The fund will buy minority stakes in small and mid-sized companies that are export-driven or targeting the booming domestic markets. BTS-IA plans to invest money in about 15 companies and each of these investments would be between $1 million and $5 million.

"The private equity fund will invest in industries where India has global competitive advantages. We will focus on sectors like pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and engineering, service industry, telecom and entertainment," Mr Guggenbuhl-Even said.

Companies will have to fulfil criteria such as high quality management, corporate governance and high potential growth rates to derive benefits of the private equity fund.

"We have experienced people working on this project. The team in Mumbai will have five professionals and two experts will work from Zurich," said Mr K. Srinivas, Managing Partner, BTS-IA.

Founded in 1996, BTS-IA has offices in Switzerland and India. The group manages two other listed funds (other than Swiss Tech, which is a private equity fund) in India and investments worth $1 billion in Asia.