Fundraising by ICICI Venture in full swing
ICICI Venture, one of the largest private equity firms in the country, raised funds of $700 million in 2012.
The PE firm successfully closed a $100-million (Rs 500 crore) second real estate fund, the India Advantage Fund Real Estate Series 2. And it managed to raise $700 million through its real estate and other funds.
ICICI Venture has used Rs 100 crore from the newly raised fund to invest in two residential projects. The first is a group housing project being developed by Advance India Projects Ltd. in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the other is a luxury residential project in Mumbai by Ahuja Developers.
The private equity firm plans to invest the funds in projects in India, mainly in the top cities- Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
It also manages the first fund of $550-million, India Advantage Fund Real Estate Series 1. This fund is fully planned across 13 investments.
In the last calendar year, 14 funds raised a total of about $1 billion (Rs5,000 crore). The fund raising scenario was faster and better in 2012 when compared to the previous two years. In the year 2011, nine funds raised $900 million and in 2010, four funds had raised a total of $200 million.
As per sources, ICICI Venture has commitment worth $275 million for its infrastructure fund and is likely to soon announce the first closure. The $500-million India Infrastructure Advantage Fund was launched in July 2010. The fund is meant for investment in various sub-sectors such as roads, railways, airports, power, ports, telecom and urban and social infrastructure.
AION, a special situation fund jointly owned by ICICI Venture and Apollo Global, raised $325 million last year. The $750-million fund, with focus on investments in distressed assets, was launched in 2011.
Fund-raising has become increasingly difficult, states a recent report by Bain & Company. But I-Ven has proved its ability in raising funds efficiently.
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