Providence to scale back India operations
Providence Equity Partners, which invests globally in communications and media-related companies, is scaling back its India business, with country head Biswajit Subramanian (pictured) set to leave the firm.
“While we have had many successful investments in India and appreciate the partnerships we developed with business leaders and entrepreneurs there, we are scaling back our operations in the country and focusing primarily on the US and Europe where we see significant opportunities,” said a spokesperson for Providence.
Subramanian, who is responsible for Asia private equity activities excluding China, joined the firm in London in 2000 and established the New Delhi office seven years after that. Varun Lal, a director with Providence since 2007, will be the sole India-based representative and manage the remaining investments.
The portfolio includes ShopCJ, a TV home-shopping network run in conjunction with Korea-based CJ O Shopping, telecom tower business Indus Towers, broadband cable provider Hathway Cable & Datacom, and UFO Moviez India, a digital cinema distribution platform that went public in 2015. Providence completed its exit from mobile operator Idea Cellular at the end of February.
The firm has one other PE asset in Asia at present – Indonesian telecom tower platform Komet Infra Nusantara (KIN). This investment is overseen by Jessica Pouleur, a director in Singapore. Alongside Subramanian, who splits his time between New Delhi and Singapore, she is one of only two Providence investment professionals in the region outside of India.
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