Manama, Bahrain—Investcorp is looking to augment investments in India to $5 billion, as the company wants to tap into the fifth largest economy in the world.
Its Executive Chairman, Mohammed Alardhi, while talking to media, said he expects the company to elevate its investments in India to $5 billion within the next five years, up from just over $600 million currently.
Manama-based private equity company’s investments in India represents just 1.5 percent of the $42.7 billion in assets managed by the firm globally.
Alardhi added that the company plans a new credit strategy in India, along with paying stronger emphasis on infrastructure deals and finding a target for its Investcorp India Acquisition Corp, which raised $259 million in a US initial public offering earlier this year.
The company started its operations in India in 2019, and it currently has investments in various sectors including consumer, healthcare, wellness, and financial services, according to Rishi Kapoor, Investcorp’s co-CEO.
He added that India’s business environment is now matured and homogenous, like the market in the US, and primarily driven by the business-friendly regulatory environment and digital transformation.
The plan to ramp up investments in India is a part of Investcorp’s strategic move to expand its assets to $100 billion.
The firm has been expanding holdings from the US to Asia, and it got itself delisted from the Bahrain stock exchange last year after almost four decades in a move it said would give it the agility to expand faster.
Kapoor further noted that Investcorp, which usually participates in the last or penultimate pre-IPO fundraiser, is planning a slightly different approach in India, as the firm is seeking bigger ticket deals to keep pace with startups in the nation.
Kapoor added that the company will also focus on providing financing to the portfolio companies of private equity firms. He, however, declined to reveal the exact timeline in which such a fund will be launched.