Gaja Capital raises Rs 125 cr in pre-IPO round, on track to be first listed PE firm in India

Gaja Capital has raised Rs 125 crore in a pre-initial public offering (IPO) round from long-term investors as it prepares to become the first standalone private equity firm in India to list on stock exchanges, according to people familiar with the matter. The funds were raised at a valuation of Rs 1,625 crore, they said.

The funds have been raised by an alternative asset management company (AMC), which will eventually be listed.

SBI Life, HDFC Life, Enam and stock market investor Jagdish Master participated in the pre-IPO round.

ET first reported Gaja Capital’s IPO plans on November 20 last year.

The alternative AMC acts as an investment adviser for funds worth $500 million deployed by the private equity firm across 24 investments.

Founded by IIT Delhi alumnus Gopal Jain, Gaja Capital counts several successful bets in its portfolio. It was the first private equity investor in RBL Bank. It made a tenfold return on a Rs 75 crore investment in Teamlease in 2010. It was also an investor in CL Educate (formerly Career Launcher). Its current investments include Avendus Capital, home financier Weavers and logistics firm Xpressbees. It has also invested in Zorawar Kalra's Massive Restaurants and fashion brand Chumbak.

Gaja Capital, SBI Life, HDFC Life and Enam didn’t respond to ET’s queries. Jagdish Master could not be contacted.

Globally, the likes of KKR, Blackstone, Ares, Apollo and Berkshire Hathaway are examples of listed alternative investment firms.

Gaja Alternative Asset Management was registered as a company two decades ago. This was unlike many other private equity firms, which registered themselves as partnerships that acted as investment advisers to funds under their management.

Gaja Capital’s AMC has been collecting fund management fees and a share of the carry or profits that are due to its fund managers over several years. By being listed, the private equity firm believes it will become more institutionalised in character, according to industry observers.

Funds raised by the proposed listing are intended to provide the fund managers' capital to seed new funds, extend distribution capabilities domestically and internationally and expand into new fund management strategies, said the people cited earlier.

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