Red Fort to raise $500m for third fund - report

Managing Director Subhash Bedi said that that the real estate private equity firm has already deployed around half of its second fund, which closed on $500 million in January. The closing came mere weeks after New Delhi-based Red Fort announced it was targeting this amount from investors.

"The opportunities in real estate have turned into the best we've had in a number of years, including in 2009, when we made a lot of money when nobody wanted to invest because everybody thought the end of the world was here," Bedi told Bloomberg. "I think this is a better time to invest than even that time."

LPs from overseas provided the capital for Red Fort India Real Estate Fund II, which is focusing on Indian residential properties. The vehicle held a first close on around $80 million in April 2011, with investors contributing a minimum of around $10 million each. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) committed $50 million. Park Hill Real Estate Group, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, acted as a placement agent on behalf of Red Fort.

Fund II's first investment took place in February, with Red Fort injecting INR1.5 billion ($30 million) into a residential project designed by developer 3C Company in New Delhi.

The private equity firm's first fund, which raised $400 million, is fully invested. Last December, Red Fort I claimed to have returned more than $100 million to LPs - which include sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies - since 2009.

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• Topics
• Real estate
• Real estate
• South Asia
• India
• Real estate
• Fundraising