Mumbai-based asset manager Axis Asset Management Company (Axis AMC) has wrapped up fundraising for its latest private credit vehicle with commitments from limited partners totaling Rs 740 crore ($86 million), falling short of its Rs 1,250-crore hard cap.
Launched in 2023, Axis Structured Credit AIF II marked its first close in October the same year.
While the fund manager did not disclose the exact target corpus or greenshoe option, media reports suggest a target corpus of about Rs 1,000 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 250 crore. With the latest fundraising, Axis AMC has achieved around 60% of the fund’s hard cap.
Registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in January 2023, the fund operates as a Category-II alternative investment fund (AIF).
Axis AMC said that it secured more than half of the corpus from institutional investors, including insurance companies, corporate treasuries, and family offices. High-net-worth individuals and wealth management channels also participated.
The fund has a mandate to make structured credit investments with ticket sizes in the range of Rs 50-65 crore. The investment tenure is five years from the date of first close, with a mandate to invest not more than 10% of the fund’s size in a single transaction.
“Our commitment to disciplined risk management and diversification remains at the core of our strategy, ensuring sustainable value creation for investors," Nachiket Naik, head of Axis AMC’s private credit vertical, said. Naik joined the firm in October last year.
In a media interview, Naik said that about 65% of the fund is already deployed and the remainder is expected to be fully deployed by July this year. The fund manager also plans to launch a follow-on fund post the full deployment of this vehicle.
This marks Axis AMC’s second venture into private credit. It launched its first such vehicle, Axis Structured Credit AIF I, about four years ago and wrapped up fundraising for the vehicle in 2022. The maturity date was February 2025, as per its website. The two funds have a similar investment strategy.
Led by managing director and CEO B Gopkumar, Axis AMC also has private equity and real estate verticals, as well as a portfolio management business alongside its mutual fund operations. Its real estate business comprises three funds, while the PE business includes two Category-II AIFs and one Category-III AIF.
