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Our Bureau

Kochi, Nov. 10 Manappuram Group of companies has received Rs 108 crore from UK and US-based private equity firms along with participation by the promoter groups.

The latest infusion of capital serves as a testament to the fact that irrespective of the adverse financial market conditions, companies with sound business models would continue to attract capital, Mr V.P. Nandakumar, Chairman of the Manappuram Group, said.

The board of directors allotted the shares to the respective investors in the first week of November.

The UK-based Ashmore Alchemy has invested Rs 32 crore through its Mauritius-based investment vehicle AA Development Capital India Fund I, LLC. Of this, Rs 22.4 crore has gone into Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Ltd and Rs 9.6 crore into Manappuram Finance (Tamil Nadu) Ltd.

The US-based private equity fund Granite Hill, through GHIOF Mauritius, has invested Rs 4.2 crore in Manappuram General Finance and Rs 1.8 crore in Manappuram Finance TN. The investments are in the form of Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares and will be converted into equity shares.

The existing foreign investors in the group also participated in this round with Rs 32.74 crore.

Sequoia Capital Growth Investments I, a private equity fund managed by Sequoia Capital, infused Rs 11.46 crore and Rs 4.91 crore into the two companies. Hudson Equity Holdings Ltd, a fund managed by India Equity Partners, invested an identical amount. The current holdings of Sequoia and Hudson are roughly 11.5 per cent in the two companies, a press release issued here said.

Simultaneously, promoters have subscribed to warrants of around Rs 26.07 crore and Rs 11.17 crore in the two companies.

Over the next 18 months, each warrant will be converted into one equity share. This would enable the promoters to retain the stake more or less at their existing proportion.

Mr Gautam Saigal, representing Ashmore Alchemy and Mr K.P. Balaraj representing Sequoia Capital have joined the board of the investee companies.

More Stories on : Venture Capital | NBFCs

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