Tata Capital to launch funds

Tata Capital, a financial services company and subsidiary one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates the Tata Group, plans to launch private equity funds for investing in India in the coming months.

The firm provides an array of financial services such as loans, SME finance, infrastructure finance, broking, capital markets and wealth management. It also makes private equity investments though these have so far been restricted to direct investments.

A recent report in the Indian newspaper The Financial Express quoted Praveen Kadle, chairman and managing director of Tata Capital, as saying: “The plans are currently on the drawing board stage, and we hope to unveil it around September. We are looking at areas like the mid-cap space and technology firms.”

The report said the firm is planning to raise different funds for various sectors, and quoted unnamed sources as saying that it will raise between $200 million (€126 million) and $300 million for funds focused on the mid-cap space, and on the technology and healthcare sectors.

A Tata Capital spokesman told PEO that the firm “looking at a play” in the private equity business. “This will be through a composite mix of sector agnostic and sectorally aligned funds,” he said.

He declined to comment on when the funds will be launched or the amount of capital the firm is looking to raise.

Tata Capital’s direct private equity investments are focused on growth capital, and selective late-stage venture capital investments and buyouts. It primarily invests in companies that have a major part of the business in India.

Earlier this year, Tata Motors, another subsidiary of the Tata Group, acquired British automobile brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for a consideration of $2.3 billion. Other parties bidding for the two Ford divisions were JPMorgan's private equity arm, Ripplewood Holdings, One Equity Partners, and a partnership between Apollo Management and Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra.