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Consumer-focussed mid-market private equity firm Lighthouse has received a commitment of $25 million (around ₹179 crore) for its third private equity fund, Lighthouse India Fund III from UK’s CDC Group plc, a development finance institution owned by the UK Government.
Other investors in the fund include marquee institutions and global family offices.
CDC, one of the largest institutional investors in Indian PE funds, has committed over $1.7 billion to Indian funds since 2004. “This investment enables CDC to get our capital into family-backed, small-to-midcap businesses in job creating sectors. As India transitions from developing to developed economy, SMEs will play an increasingly important role but they will need more investment than ever,” Alagappan Murugappan, Managing Director and head of Asia Funds, CDC, said in a statement.
Historically, Murugappan went on to add, the SME segment of the Indian market has seen a widening gap between the supply and demand of capital.
Lighthouse is a mid-market private equity firm focussed on growth investments in India’s consumer sector. It has backed marquee consumer centric brands such as ethnic snack food player Bikaji Foods, luxury premium ayurvedic personal care brand Kama Ayurveda, ethnic lifestyle brand FabIndia, and India’s leading sanitaryware brand Cera.
Lighthouse’s Co-Founder Mukund Krishnaswami said, “CDC brings decades of experience working in emerging markets and in India particularly. We look forward to their partnership and guidance as we continue to back entrepreneurs building long term, sustainable businesses.”
Lighthouse has closed four investments from its third fund. Earlier this month, it announced that it was investing over ₹250 crore in Aqualite Industries, dealing in footwear. Last month, the fund invested ₹160 crore in Duroflex, a leading mattress brand in Ssouth India.
In September, it made an investment of ₹113 crore in Nykaa, India’s premier beauty retailer, while in June, it invested ₹83 crore in Tynor Orthotics, a leading orthotic soft goods brand.
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