WestBridge closes $200m Indian VC fund

Mauritius-headquartered WestBridge Capital Partners, which has offices in Bangalore and Silicon Valley, has closed its second fund, WestBridge Ventures II, with $200 million (€247 million) in commitments from existing and new institutional investors.
 
The fund will continue WestBridge’s previous focus on high growth Indian companies targeting domestic and export markets in a number of sectors, including outsourced services, information technology, healthcare and the internet.
 
According to WestBridge’s co-founder and senior managing director, Sumir Chadha, the fund was highly oversubscribed with strong interest from both existing and new investors.
 
The new fund will be managed by managing directors Chadha, KP Balaraj, SK Jain, Rishi Navani and Sandeep Singhal, who all previously worked on Fund I.
 
“We are seeing a significant number of high quality investment opportunities in India across domestic services, outsourcing and technology, and we expect to maintain or increase our investment pace of four to five new investments every year,” said WestBridge’s co-founder and managing director KP Balaraj in a statement.
 
WestBridge Capital Partners currently manages a portfolio of 16 companies across India’s domestic services, IT and outsourcing sectors.

In July, rival Indian private equity firm GW Capital Partners held a $150 million close on its second fund, with commitments from Partners Group, CDC, Grove Street Advisors and PPM. India Value Fund II will focus on buyouts in the SME sector.
 
The fundraising success for domestic venture capital players comes at a time when India is proving an attractive destination for global buyout firms as well. The Carlyle Group, The Blackstone Group and 3i have all opened offices in Mumbai in recent months.