India In Sight #29
India In Sight #29
Weekly updates on Indian private markets
We are Ambassador Capital Partners, an investment firm with a focus on private credit and private equity. Deeply embedded in the private markets ecosystem, ACP works with large global institutions to provide creative capital solutions for companies and asset managers.
In the spirit of making Indian private markets more accessible and transparent to global LPs and GPs, we have launched ‘India In Sight’ – consolidating and curating relevant information and insights from Indian private markets including trends, key deals, fundraises, KPIs and top tier research.
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KEY DEALS
Equity
[Exit] Fairfax India Holdings sold c.6% stake in IIFL Finance, a non-banking finance company, for c.$145 million. (December 22, 2023)
NIIF, a quasi-sovereign infrastructure fund, to invest c.$80 million in GMR Vishakhapatnam International Airport to develop and operate the airport. (December 22, 2023)
GreyOrange, a robotics startup, raised c.$135 million in its Series D funding round led by Anthelion Capital. Other investors include Mithril Capital, 3State Ventures and Blume Ventures. (December 21, 2023)
[Expected] Flipkart, an online ecommerce retail platform, is looking to raise c.$1 billion. Walmart, a US-based retailer and Flipkart’s parent company, to invest c.$600 million at a valuation of c.$33 billion. (December 21, 2023)
[Exit] Blackstone to sell its entire c.24% stake in Embassy Office Parks, a real estate investment trust for c.$830 million in a secondary market transaction. (December 19, 2023)
[Exit] Warburg Pincus sold its stake in Apollo Tyres. The transaction details were not disclosed. The PE firm first invested c.$125 million in the company in 2019 and c.$150 million in 2020 for an overall c.18% stake. (December 19, 2023)
VideoVerse, a SaaS video editing platform, raised an estimated c.$45 million from Bluestone Equity Partners, a US based PE firm. Existing investors include A91 Partners and Alpha Wave Global. (December 18, 2023)
Other Credit Deals and Issuances
Vedanta Ltd is looking to raise c.$425 million through issuance of NCDs on a private placement basis
KEY FUNDS AND FUNDRAISES
AIIB, a multilateral development bank, to invest c.$75 million in Actis Asia Climate Fund, which has a target corpus of c.$1 billion. (December 21, 2023)
InvAscent, a healthcare-focused PE firm, marked the first close of its fourth fund, which has a target corpus of c.$400 million. (December 18, 2023)
Eversource Capital, a climate impact fund and a JV between Lightsource BP and Everstone Capital, is looking to raise c. $100 million to invest in smart meter sector. Eversource raised $740 million for its first fund in 2022. (December 22, 2023)
Edelweiss Financial Services, a domestic financial services group, looking to sell c.20% stake in Edelweiss Alternatives Asset Advisors for c.$240 million. (December 18, 2023)
MARKET INSIGHTS & RESEARCH
Articles
Despite current policies, the climate tech sector's impact remains minimal; however, significant growth expected in 2024, with AI playing a key role in emissions tracking and monitoring as part of India's Tech Outlook. Key themes for 2024 include: green hydrogen, circular economy, sustainable agriculture and food (alternative protein), sustainable aviation fuel etc. Read more. [Paywall]
Reports
As per EY-IVCA monthly roundup, private equity and venture capital investments in India hit a 43-month low at $1.6 billion in November 2023, down 69% yoy, and are expected to close 10-12% lower in 2023 compared to $56 billion in 2022. The deal volume was down by 45% yoy (58 deals in Nov 2023 vs 106 deals in Nov 2022).
Knight Frank’s latest report on investments in real estate highlights that Indian real estate witnessed a 44% drop in private equity investments, reaching c.$3 billion across 23 deals in 2023 (vs $5.3 billion in 2022), with office, warehousing, and residential sectors leading the investments; The sector also attracted over $1 billion from private credit investors in 2023. c.20% of the overall investments by AIFs were towards the real estate sector in FY2023. While US and Canada inflows declined, Asian investors contributed over 75%. Read more.
CBRE report: What Drove Real Estate in 2023 aims to explore the driving forces behind various real estate sectors amid cautious capital inflows and a vibrant market landscape. In 2023, the Indian economy grew robustly at 7.6% despite global and domestic challenges, with notable strength in manufacturing and construction, leading to upward GDP revisions.
CBRE research paper: India Construction Cost Trends 2023 outlines that in 2023, the construction industry saw easing cost pressures with some stabilization in key material prices, and further normalization is anticipated as market dynamics and sustainable practices evolve.
CSE report on Rooftop Solar PV (RTS PV) in India suggests that even with a conservative approach, residential rooftops could add 29 GW of RTS PV by 2030 in ten states, emphasizing the need for innovative models and stakeholder collaboration to boost clean power generation via residential RTS PV.
EY & IVCA report: Start-up Governance Navigator, offers actionable insights for investors and companies to navigate challenges and prioritize good governance and fraud prevention. India's start-up ecosystem, boasting disruptive innovations and emerging unicorns, needs robust internal controls and strong ethical frameworks for long-term success and investor trust.
KPIs
RBI cautions a stable 4% inflation target is uncertain with near-term risks looming, and warns that premature rate cuts could undermine monetary policy and growth stability.
Recent reports from the RBI and IMF praise India's economic resilience and growth potential amid global uncertainties, but warn of inflation risks and other challenges that could impede progress. Read more.
Below is a quick snapshot of the services sector performance from the latest RBI bulletin.
WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE (w/c December 18, 2023)
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