CLSA Capital Partners invests $15m in India's Earth Water

The investment will be used to support existing core businesses and future acquisition plans. Sunil Ghorawat, founder and managing director of Earth Water Group, said the capital will enhance the company's risk appetite, enabling it to enter new areas such as zero liquid discharge and desalination.

"Water is a core area for our fund and we have been looking for several years for the right partner in India," said Peter Kennedy, managing partner at CLSA CP. "We looked at various business models in the Indian water sector and felt that Earth Water Group is the best suited opportunity to provide long-term professional management, national reach, strong customer relationship and a healthy order book."

As part of the transaction, Sanjeev Krishnan, a director at CLSA CP, will join the company's board.

India faces serious water shortages, largely driven by increased demand and deteriorating water quality. The water sector - which is said to be worth more than INR600 billion ($10 billion) - has been on the radar of private investors.

In March, International Finance Corporation (IFC) agreed to invest up to $25 million in IDFC Private Equity-backed water management company Doshion. In April 2011, Matrix Partners also invested $13.4 million in Chetas Control Systems, a leading provider of turnkey water metering solutions to municipal utilities companies.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Cleantech
• Expansion
• India
• CLSA Capital Partners
• Cleantech
• IFC
• Matrix Partners
• IDFC Private Equity