India's Axis Bank seeks $468m for distress buyout fund

Axis is teaming up with Inversion Advisory Services, a consultancy associated with telecom industry veteran Akhil Gupta. It referred to the partnership as the first of its kind locally in that it combines an established equity fund manager with an operations and turnarounds specialist.

The sector-agnostic fund will acquire controlling stakes in pre-stressed, stressed, distressed, and other underperforming assets. Targets will be quality companies with operational capabilities facing temporary headwinds. There will be a significant focus on on-ground interventions and monitoring.

The plan is to fill a gap in the Indian distress market, which is well serviced by debt offerings but lacks quality equity capital options and operational support. Axis, which will manage the fund, described Gupta’s experience as uniquely suited to a special opportunities strategy. Inversion is said to have a team of functional and industry experts.

“The combination is ideal to not just exploit large untapped potential in this space but also serve an important social purpose in saving a large number of jobs and capital already invested by shareholders, lenders, and vendors in such companies,” Gupta said in a statement.

Founded in 1993, Axis is the third-largest private sector bank in India. Its asset management business closed an INR4 billion real estate fund in 2019 and has launched three growth equity funds in recent years. The platform aspires to be a market leader in alternatives.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Fundraising
• Credit/Special Situations
• India
• Axis private equity
• Distress