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SAIF Partners closes new India-focused VC fund at $350M

By Shruti Ambavat

  • 03 Mar 2015
SAIF Partners closes new India-focused VC fund at $350M

Venture capital and growth equity investment firm SAIF Partners has raised $350 million (Rs 2,170 crore) to make a final close for its India-dedicated fund. This is similar to the corpus it raised in the previous India fund and gives it fresh fire-power to back both its existing portfolio firms in follow-on funding rounds and add new companies to the basket.

The VC firm completed the fundraising process for its new investment vehicle christened SAIF Partners India V Ltd, in a SEC disclosure.

It said it had made first close in December 2014 and scooped the entire sum from 27 investors. It had raised the previous India-dedicated fund from the same number of investors around four years ago.

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An email sent to SAIF Partners on the development and whether it added new limited partners or LPs in the new fund did not immediately elicit a response.

The multi-stage investment firm which has backed a number of marquee Indian tech firms including MakeMyTrip and Just Dial has been especially successful in taking its portfolio companies public. It had scored multi-baggers as MakeMyTrip listed on NASDAQ a few years ago and has recently also part-exited Just Dial with over 30x in returns.

The firm chases investments in consumer products and services, technology, media, education, telecom, financial services, healthcare, travel and tourism and manufacturing sectors. It typically invests between $2 million and $75 million in one or more rounds of financing in its portfolio companies.

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Some time back it also added seed investments to its strategy in India and has sewn some early stage deals in the segment.

Its other portfolio firms include One97 Communications, which is now better known for its mobile commerce and wallet brand Paytm; Lovable Lingerie; Speciality Restaurants; HomeShop18; BookMyShow; PropTiger, etc.

One of its portfolio firms which is set for an IPO is Manpasand Beverages.

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SAIF's new fund packs the second largest corpus raised by an India-dedicated VC firm. Last year, Sequoia had raised $530 million in its new India fund.

In the past, Helion raised $255 million in second India fund three years ago; Accel Partners raised $155 million in its last India fund in late 2011 while last year Mayfield scooped $108 million in its second India-focused fund and Inventus raised $106 million fund.

Among other peers, IDG had floated its new India fund in February 2013 where it sought to raise $175 million. It is yet to declare any fundraising milestone.

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Among other firms, IvyCap is aiming to raise around $200 million in its second fund and joins other peers such as Kae Capital, Blume Ventures among others to woo investors to back Indian companies.

Another prominent VC firm Nexus, which had raised $270 million in its third fund in 2012, had last year filed to raise more money. Nexus is yet to make a disclosure on the progress of the fundraising process of this vehicle.

Media reports suggest Kalaari Capital and Accel are also raising new India funds.

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(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

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