India's IL&FS reaches $40m first close on growth fund

The close comes more than three years after the launch of Tara India Fund IV in 2011. At the time the was fund was said to have a target of $300 million, but VC Circle reported this has since been revised down to $75 million.

The fund will seek growth capital investments primarily in the manufacturing, retail and logistics sectors. The vehicle was said to have a lifespan of 8-10 years and generate an expected return of 20-25% on its investments.

IL&FS raised over $225 million for its Tara India Fund III in 2007. The vehicle made 11 investments - all in the $15-$20 million range - including Ramky Enviro Engineers, GSS America Infotech, Quickjet Cargo Airlines, RBS Group and Ramky Infrastructure,

"With the market visibly improving and India emphasizing its foothold as an emerged market, many investors have started evaluating India keenly for fresh investments," said Archana Hingorani, CEO of IIML. "This is reflected in the domestic capital market which received $16 billion in the 2014 calendar year."

IIML invests across three asset classes including real estate, infrastructure and sector agnostic growth funds.

According to the firm's third-quarter results, it recorded exits worth INR5.3 billon ($85.5 million) across the three asset classes in the three months ended December 31, versus INR2.1 billion for the same period in 2013. Exits from the preceding nine months totalled INR10.1 billion, up 25% year-on-year.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Fundraising
• Expansion
• IL&FS Investment Managers
• India
• Growth capital
• Fundraising