India’s Multiples Alternate Asset Management, led by former ICICI Venture veteran Renuka Ramnath, has made the first close of its fourth fund at $640 million as it looks to ramp up investments in domestic companies.
The homegrown private equity (PE) major is understood to be eyeing a total corpus of about $1 billion.
Multiples has roped in both foreign and domestic limited partners (LPs) for its latest fund, with prominent names such as The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and State Bank of India (SBI) coming in as anchor investors.
“We are excited about the India opportunity and the tremendous entrepreneurial energy that’s propelling the country forward,” said Sudhir Variyar, MD & Deputy CEO, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, in a media statement.
Since its inception in 2009, Multiples has invested in diverse sectors such as financial services, consumer, healthcare and IT services, and textiles, among others.
According to information available on its website, it currently manages assets worth around $3 billion across 29 companies in three funds.
While Multiples counts logistics unicorn Delhivery and fantasy sports platform Dream 11 among its portfolio firms in the startup category, it has also clocked a host of traditional investments in companies such as South Indian Bank and PVR Cinemas.
Multiples last raised $560 million for its third India-dedicated PE fund in 2019. It closed its second fund at $700 million in 2017, which included a $150-million co-investment pool. Its first fund was launched in 2011 with a corpus of $405 million.
Despite macroeconomic headwinds, several PE firms have hit the fundraising trail. Paragon Partners, founded by Siddharth Parekh, the younger son of Indian largest mortgage lender HDFC’s chairman Deepak Parekh; and serial entrepreneur Sumeet Nindrajog, is also understood to have closed its second fund at Rs 700 crore ($85.37 million) recently.
Last month, DealStreetAsia reported that mid-market PE firm Amicus Capital Partners, the backer of startups like online insurance platform RenewBuy, Capital Small Finance Bank, and Berar Finance, has hit the first close of its second investment vehicle at $75-100 million (Rs 600-800 crore).
The PE major is understood to be targeting a total amount of $200 million for the vehicle as it looks to spruce up investments across fast-growing sectors such as financial services, consumer, healthcare, technology, and business services.
Others in the market to raise capital include Xponentia Capital, Rockstud Capital, 8i Ventures, Lighthouse Canton, Investcorp India, and Accel, among others.