Switzerland’s BTS closes $80m India fund

BTS Investment Advisors, a Swiss private equity firm, has held a final close of BTS India Private Equity Fund, an $80 million (€62 million) fund focused on expansion capital investments in medium-sized businesses in India.
 
Marketing for BTS India Private Equity Fund began in the third quarter of last year and the fund held a first close of $45 million at the beginning of July.
 
Anchor investors in the fund included the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, acting through the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets, which committed $12 million; a $15 million allocation from Asian Development Bank; and $5 million each from Belgian Investment Company for Developing Companies and International Cooperation and Development Fund of Taiwan.
 
Other investors in the fund included high net worth investors and family offices in Europe and Asia.
 
K Srinivas, managing partner in the Mumbai office of BTS Investment Advisors, said that the fund will target medium-sized companies with investment sizes ranging between $1 million and $5 million.
 
Target sectors include life sciences, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, engineering, IT and IT-enabled services, telecoms and leisure. Srinivas added that the fund is expected to have a total internal rate of return of 30 percent.
 
BTS Private Equity Fund will follow a similar strategy to its predecessor, Swiss Technology Venture Capital Fund, a $60 million India-focused fund launched in 1997. It has made 19 investments, of which seven have been exited. Srinivas said that the fund has an IRR of over 20 percent following the disposals.
 
BTS Investment Advisors has five investment professionals based in its Mumbai office, supported by two partners in the firm’s Zurich headquarters. The company manages approximately $1 billion in assets globally.