Aion reaches $825m final close on India distress fund

The close - announced during Apollo's quarterly earnings call - far exceeds initial target of $500 million, making this the largest India-focused vehicle to be raised since WestBridge Capital's $850 million WestBridge Crossover Fund.

The Aion fund was launched in January last year. According to the ICICI Venture website, Aion's investment mandate is intended to complement ICICI Venture's focus on growth capital and buyout private equity transactions by pursuing special situations opportunities such as financial restructurings, recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts and promoter financings.

Aion completed its first transaction last September, investing $23 million in Jyoti International, the US subsidiary of India-based Jyoti Structures, which engages in power transmission, distribution and substation-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects.

The successful fundraise comes at a time when the Indian economy is growing at its slowest pace in a decade, leaving companies struggling to raise capital. The Reserve Bank of India said in January that it would encourage private equity firms to play an active role in the stressed assets market to help reduce banks' bad loans.

KKR has also been eyeing opportunities in this space, with the global buyout firm's co-founder Henry Kravis saying in February that his fund plans to invest in Indian distressed companies through a special situations vehicle.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Credit/Special Situations
• Fundraising
• India
• Apollo Global Management
• ICICI Venture Funds Management Company
• Distress
• Fundraising