WestBridge looks to exit portfolio companies of yesteryear
WestBridge Capital – which was re-launched by its original founders in February - is looking to exit portfolio companies in which it invested prior to merging with Sequoia. According to India’s Business Standard, this includes stakes in Indecomm Global, which WestBridge invested in 2003, and Applabs, which it first backed in 2004.
It is thought the two exits may garner up to $150 million, giving Westbridge a 6x return, and will be finalized by the year's end. The two assets represent some of WestBridge's earliest investments. The firm invested approximately $15 million in tech company Indecomm Global through several tranches starting in 2003. It holds about 50% of software provider Applabs, also acquired through several investment rounds starting in 2004.
WestBridge appears to be seeking a fresh start and a new portfolio of PIPE companies. Last month it announced that it had raised and closed a $500 million fund in the space of six months. This was one of the fastest fundraises in recent times, undoubtedly aided by the management team's star status in India's private equity community.
The vehicle will make long-term commitments in both public and later-stage private companies. In February, Principal Sumir Chadha told AVCJ: "Our investments will be mostly of a secondary nature but we are flexible." He further described the fund as "a hybrid between mutual fund, hedge fund and private equity fund."
Chadha, with K.P. Balaraj, S.K. Jain and Sandeep Singhal, announced they would relaunch WestBridge in February. Balaraj and Chadha started the firm in 2000 and subsequently brought in Jain and Singhal. It merged into Sequoia five years ago.
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