Morgan Stanley India infra fund set to raise capital from Dutch investor

By Narinder Kapur

  • 24 Mar 2020
Credit: Reuters

An India-focused private equity fund managed by global investment firm Morgan Stanley is set to raise capital from Dutch development bank FMO.

North Haven India Infrastructure Fund (NHIIF), which focuses mostly on asset-light infrastructure, will raise 15 million euros ($16.2 million or Rs 124 crore at current exchange rate).

North Haven seeks to make significant minority or majority stake acquisitions in companies active in segments such as energy and utilities, mobility and logistics, social infrastructure and healthcare.

In a disclosure, FMO said the proposed investment in NHIIF will help the private equity vehicle invest in private companies building physical and societal infrastructure, with a view to providing large groups of India’s population with economic efficiencies, as well as services and social welfare.

Existing investors in NHIIF include Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

This development comes after Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia in September last year raised $366.4 million for its fifth Asia fund – the North Haven Private Equity Asia V. 

Media reports had previously said that Morgan Stanley could aim to mop up as much as $2 billion for the new vehicle. It had raised $1.7 billion for the fourth Asian fund in 2014.

FMO’s bets

FMO, like Washington-based International Finance Corporation, is one of the most active global investment institutions in India. 

It finances projects through both equity and debt and makes limited partner-style bets on alternative investment funds.

Earlier this month, FMO proposed to invest 1.2 million euros (around Rs 85 crore) worth of debt in Dharma Life, which focuses on self-employment in rural India. Als this month it proposed to invest up to $30 million (Rs 222 crore) in Bengaluru-based Vistaar Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.

In December, FMO proposed an additional equity investment of 1 million euros ($1.1 million or Rs 7.9 crore) in Orb Energy Pte. Ltd, a solar photovoltaic and solar thermal solutions provider. 

In November, it invested $30.3 million in CreditAccess Grameen Ltd, which operates a microlending business under the Grameen Koota brand.