Accel cancels plans for $400m India fund - report
Silicon Valley-based VC firm Accel Partners will not raise a $400 million India-focused fund as previously planned, The Times of India reported, citing unstable market conditions and increased competition as reasons for the decision.
Accel was first said to be targeting a growth-stage, country-focused fund in July - a contrast to its current early-stage mandate for the country. The Times noted that Accel recruited LPs including DE Shaw, Apax Partners and Goldman Sachs. Neeraj Bharadwaj, the former head of Apax Partners in India, Prateek Dhawan, formerly a Goldman Sachs investor, and Vineet Sachdeva, from DE Shaw, joined Accel over the last two years for both its Indian fundraise and its wider investments into the country. Sources told the newspaper that Bharadwaj and Dhawan would continue with Accel for the time being.
Accel expects to continue making early-stage investments in start-ups. The firm entered India in 2008 with its acquisition of Bangalore-based Erasmic Partners, which at the time was managing a $15 million fund. Accel has since raised a second fund and now has $80 million under management in India and has made investments in 30 companies. Globally, the firm has more than $6 billion in assets under management.
The firm's portfolio includes Facebook, for which it was an early investor, DropBox, AdMob and Groupon. It has offices in New Delhi, Bangalore, Palo Alto, New York and London, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.