With six deals already under its belt in sectors as diverse as vocational training in media, mobile value added services and property planning solutions, Indus Balaji Emerging Markets Media & Entertainment Opportunities Fund is now scouting for deals in the logistics, healthcare and agriculture services areas.
The private equity fund, which has Balaji Telefilms as its main sponsor, is looking to make another 2-3 investments in the next one year by which it would have deployed majority of its corpus totalling to `90 crore. “Going forward, we want to do pharma, logistics, agriculture and healthcare services. However, we are very clear that we want to use digitalinternet to create demand,” Mohit Ralhan, Managing Partner, Indus Balaji Emerging Markets & Opportunities Fund told Express.
Of the `90 crore, the fund has so far made commitments to the tune of `30 crore. While Balaji Telefilms has put in `40 crore into the PE fund, the rest has come from high and ultra high networth individuals.
He said that the fund is looking at investing in sectors that are linked to domestic consumption story. “Digital is here to stay. Any sector where we can create demand online or through a digital interface but continue to deliver (products and services) offline,” he added.
Aiming at assets under management (AUM) of $100 million over the next 12-18 months, the fund’s AUMs currently stand at $35 million.
“We are looking at assets and investee companies independent of the sector where digital can be used. The online-offline model is something we want to test,” Ralhan said.
On plans for a second fund, he avers that it will take nearly three years before Indus Balaji hits the ground for raising capital.