Tag: private equity firm

Baring’s Rahul Bhasin expects Indian IT services to retain global dominance despite AI disruption

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Rahul Bhasin, Managing Partner, Baring Private Equity Partners  believes Indian information technology (IT) services companies will continue to retain their global dominance despite the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

However,  he says, “They (the industry) will go through a transition time…there is an inflection point and a state of flux, which the industry will go through. And I think there will be revenue uncertainty and business model uncertainty for a while.”

Currently, a bulk of the work earlier being done by Indian IT companies is getting automated due to AI. This shift, Bhasin believes, will necessitate transitions in business models within the IT industry, especially for large IT service companies.

While technology and software will stay the world’s fastest growing industry, eating up all other industries, “what people may have missed is that it will also eat itself up .”

Read Here | WEF 2024: Gita Gopinath says AI could impact 30% of jobs in India

Bhasin says while Baring will still prefer the tech theme, it will pick business models depending on evolving market trends.

In addition to the technology sector, Bhasin discussed the outlook for consumer and industrial sectors. While he acknowledged the soundness of consumer businesses with promising growth trajectories, he cautioned against their current expensive valuations.

Regarding the industrial sector, Bhasin noted the absence of a significant capital expenditure (capex) cycle since approximately 2011. He suggested a potential turnaround, citing increasing activity in real estate, hotels, hospitals, and malls. With government support for infrastructure investments, Bhasin anticipated a positive impact across the value chain.

Talking about PE firms exiting via block deals, IPOs, Bhasin said, “Private equity industry is time bound. So any investment made, you will see divestments. Now, that mode of divestment keeps evolving and keeps changing, depending on market conditions. Sometimes it’s strategic, sometimes it’s M&A, sometimes it’s via buyback and sometimes it’s through the listed markets in the public markets.”

Also Read | 2023 witnesses record-breaking block deals, private equity & venture capital stole the spotlight

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Advent International plans to invest $5-10 billion in India in next 5 years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Advent International, a foreign private equity firm, has announced its intention to increase its investments in India over the next five years. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, James Brocklebank, Co-Head of Europe at Advent International, said, “For the next five years, we would like to commit something like $5 to $10 billion here in India. So a very significant growth, but that reflects the prospects that we see in this market.”

Brocklebank emphasised the attractiveness of the Indian market, citing factors such as a stable government, consistent GDP growth, and impressive digitisation initiatives like the Aadhar card program.

He expressed excitement about the opportunities present in India, particularly in the private equity sector, which has seen substantial growth with approximately $12 billion invested annually, with many companies exceeding $500 million in value.

Read Here | Global PE major EQT looks to invest $5 billion in India in the next 3-4 years

David Mussafer, Chairman and Managing Partner at Advent International, highlighted the improving global economic conditions, which are creating more favourable investment opportunities. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Advent International remains optimistic about the potential for new investments and exits in India.

Advent International has already invested close to $6 billion in India and manages assets worth over $90 billion globally. With its increased commitment to the Indian market, the firm aims to capitalise on emerging opportunities and contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Talking about their areas of interest, Shweta Jalan, Head of India & Co-Head of Asia at Advent International, shed light on the specific sectors the firm is targeting. Jalan identified healthcare, financial services, consumer goods, technology services, and manufacturing as the primary sectors of interest for Advent International.

Watch the video for more

Also Read | Big Deal | Why PE firm Advent International is cautiously optimistic on India in 2024

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Global PE major EQT looks to invest $5 billion in India in the next 3-4 years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Global private equity firm EQT may top up its investment in India by at least another ₹5 billion in the next three or four years. The PE firm has made investments worth ₹2 billion in the last 10 months in the financial and healthcare services sectors.

EQT has total assets under management worth over $250 billion and its top India team shared its India investment strategy and key themes on CNBC-TV18’s Big Deal.

Expressing continuous optimism about India, Jimmy Mahtani, Partner and Co-Head of EQT Pvt Capital Asia, India, said, “In terms of deal size and capital deployment, our expectation is we will probably deploy another ₹5 billion in the next three or four years, maybe even more. So far, we have done ₹2 billion in the last 10 months, or so I would say, and those two are one in financial services and one in healthcare services.”

Ashish Agrawal, Partner at EQT, outlined the firm’s focus areas within the financial services space. He emphasised three key segments: affordable housing, financing micro and small enterprises, and wealth management.

Read Here | Big Deal | Why PE firm Advent International is cautiously optimistic on India in 2024

Agrawal stressed the importance of maintaining a focus on valuation and thorough diligence in their investment approach. When discussing the banking sector, he noted that while it is expected to perform well, regulatory constraints limit control investing in the sector.

Hari Gopalakrishnan, Partner and Co-Head of EQT Pvt Capital Asia, India, expressed pride in EQT’s achievements with Coforge, highlighting the company’s doubling in size over the past four years. Gopalakrishnan underscored EQT’s emphasis on exits, stating that the depth of the market played a crucial role in their success.

To learn more about EQT’s investment strategy in India, watch the complete video interview

Also Read | 2023 witnesses record-breaking block deals, private equity & venture capital stole the spotlight

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Everstone Capital plans Rs 700 crore Burger King India IPO, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Private equity firm Everstone Capital is planning a Rs 700 crore initial public offering of restaurant chain Burger King India and is expected to file draft papers with Sebi in the next two months, reported Mint, citing two people aware of the development.

“The IPO will include both primary and secondary share sales. The company will raise primary capital as it is a growing business and they need to invest in expanding their number of outlets… Everstone, on the other hand, would like to use the listing to take some money off the table. The exact proportions of the primary and secondary share sales are still being finalized,” Mint quoted a source as saying.

Everstone Capital, the report said, owns a majority stake in Burger King India and as per latter’s filings with the Registrar of Companies invested Rs 100 crore during last fiscal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Private equity firm buying Shutterfly for $1.74 billion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Private equity firm Apollo Global Management is buying online photo publishing company Shutterfly for $51 per share.

Apollo will pay $1.74 billion for the 20-year-old company, which became popular offering its users prints and photobooks of their favourite shots. But demand for that type of service has declined as people opt to share photos online through Facebook and other social networks.

Redwood City, California-based Shutterfly’s stock closed at $50.25 on Monday — and was trading as high as $94.28 per share a year ago.

Ryan O’Hara, the former CEO at real estate company Move Inc., will become Shutterfly’s new chief executive.

Shutterfly became popular during a time when printing photos meant a trip to the supermarket and often a dayslong wait. The company’s popularity swelled by selling an array of photo-clad gifts including mugs, calendars and canvasses.

Shutterfly bought competitor’s Kodak’s online photo business for $23.8 million in 2012 after the legacy photo company filed for bankruptcy protection earlier that year.

But as digital photo sharing became more pervasive, Shutterfly’s popularity waned, even as revenue grew. Shutterfly announced it would lay off about 260 employees, or 13 percent of its staff, in early 2017.

Shutterfly bought school photography company Lifetouch for $825 million last year.

Apollo will also buy photo printing company Snapfish and merge it with Shutterfly.

Apollo has bought more than 150 companies, including security company ADT, entertainment restaurant Chuck E Cheese’s and telecom firm Charter Communications.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Private equity investments up 45% this year, says Ernst & Young

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Private equity investments were flat year on year at $1.5 billion across 63 deals in July this year, accounting firm Ernst & Young said in a report. Total investments for the year to date till July is almost $17 billion, recording a rise of about 45 percent compared to last year.

“Notwithstanding headwinds at a global as well as the domestic level, Indian PE/VC investment activity has maintained a steady run rate so far, clocking an average of $2 billion worth of PE/VC investments per month in 2018,” said Vivek Soni, India head of private equity advisory at EY.

“Exit activity, on the other hand, has been somewhat dampened by the volatility seen in the stock markets over the recent past, especially in the mid-cap and small-cap spaces. Nonetheless, there is a good amount of deal activity underpinned by the secondary and strategic sale segments and we expect the second half of 2018 to be as good as the first half for exits as well,” he added.

Highlights Of The Report:

• In terms of deal volume, investment activity increased by 50 percent to 63 deals in July 2018, compared to 42 in July 2017.
• Breaking away from recent trends, July 2018 recorded fewer large size deals. There were three deals of value greater than $100 million in July 2018, accounting for only 26 percent of total investments as against a 65 percent investment share in June 2018.
• TPG was the most active PE investor in July 2018 and announced four deals, including a $105 million investment in Sai Life Sciences Limited for a 35 percent stake, $40 million investment in e-commerce platform Livespace and co-investments with a group of other investors in online ticketing platform Bookmyshow and an NBFC, Five Star Business Finance Limited.
• In terms of stages of investment, expansion/growth investments continued to lead in terms of value of investments, with 20 deals worth $633 million, 23 percent higher compared to July 2017; while startups ranked at the top in terms of number of deals (33 deals).
• July saw $431 million invested in startups, highest monthly value in 2018. Buyouts on the other hand, recorded the lowest monthly value of investments in 2018, with two deals worth $100 million.
• From a sector point of view, real estate and financial services were the most active sectors in terms of value of investments. In terms of number of deals, technology with 16 deals was the leader.
• July 2018 recorded eleven exits totalling $376 million, a slight increase of 6 percent compared to July 2017 ($352 million across eight exits).

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow