India’s Lighthouse reaches $138m final close on Fund II

The vehicle, India 2020 Fund II, reached a first close of approximately $60 million in August 2013. This includes an investment of $25 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Last year, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance arm of the US government, also agreed to commit up to $42 million to the fund.

"The confidence from investors in oversubscribing Fund II is a testament to the Lighthouse team and the strong performance of Fund I, which is fully invested with 50% of the invested capital realized and is on target to return 2.5x over the life of the fund," said Sunaina Sinha, managing partner of Cebile Capital, which served as placement agent for the fund, in a statement.

Lighthouse raised $100 million for its first fund in 2008. The investment strategy for Fund II is largely consistent with that of its predecessor. The GP seeks significant minority stakes in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with $5-100 million in revenue an annual growth in excess of 50%. It typically deploys $5-15 million per transaction.

Sectors of interest include healthcare, education, rural consumption and agribusiness - all of which are likely to benefit from and promote consumer demand and purchasing.

"The mid-market in India continues to be underserved from a capital availability standpoint. This creates a unique landscape for long-term investors to invest in and support an amazing set of entrepreneurs, creating the ‘New India'," said Brian Larcombe, board member of Fund II and formerly CEO of 3i.

The new fund has already made three investments - with a fourth almost complete - and is over 30% deployed.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Fundraising
• Consumer
• GPs
• India
• Fundraising
• Consumer
• SME
• Lighthouse Funds
• Growth capital
• GPs