Avigo closes Fund III on $240m

Avigo Capital Partners, an India-focused fund manager, has raised $240 million for the final close of its third private equity fund, Achal Ghai, managing partner at Avigo, told PEO's sister web site PEI Asia.

The firm was targeting commitments of $250 million for the fund.

Thus far, the fund has invested in Naftogaz India, an engineering procurement and construction company in the oil and gas area, and in a digital media company, the name of which Ghai declined to disclose.

Avigo’s third fund has a similar strategy to its predecessor. It will make growth investments in core sectors including industrial manufacturing, industrial services and infrastructure-related manufacturing and services; and certain emerging sectors such as education, digital media and specialised retail. About 75 percent of the fund is likely to be deployed in investments in core sectors and the remainder in emerging sectors, according to Ghai.

Avigo SME Fund III has seen all institutional investors from the previous fund re-upping their commitments, Ghai told PEI Asia in March.

The firm had raised about $150 million for its fund by February 2009. At the time, Ghai said returning lead investors in the fund include International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank; UK government-backed fund of funds investor CDC Group; EDC, Canada's export credit agency; Squadron Capital, a Hong Kong-based fund of funds manager; and Australian Reward Investment Alliance, which was represented by Macquarie. New lead investors in the fund include PPM and New York-based fund of funds manager Siguler Guff, Ghai said.

Avigo’s previous fund closed on $125 million in 2007 and is now fully invested across 11 transactions, Ghai said. The firm’s first fund was a C$14 million (€10.2 million; $13.7 million) vehicle that made five investments in the manufacturing, auto components and pharmaceutical sectors.

A few of Avigo’s portfolio companies include Privi Organics, a manufacturer of aroma chemicals; Spykar, a branded apparel company; Bharat Box Factory, a packaging company; Aeroflex Industries, a stainless steel pipe manufacturer and distributor; and Rinac India, a cooling solutions company.