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Stakeboat Capital, a mid-market private equity firm launched by Chennai-based serial healthcare entrepreneur, GSK Velu, has now lowered the target for its first fund to ₹300 crore against ₹500 crore planned earlier. Further to its closure, the firm will look at raising a bigger fund totalling $200 million (₹1,420 crore).
“We wanted to raise ₹500 crore but we are nearing closure of the fund at ₹300 crore. Apart from the market conditions, the reduction of the fund size is also due to the fact that we didn’t create any foreign investment vehicle, which should have been ideally created either in Singapore or Mauritius,” Velu, who is also the anchor investor at Stakeboat Capital, told BusinessLine .
“It is difficult to raise big funds when you raise it only from Indian investors,” he said, adding Indian institutional investors generally ‘write cheques’ of smaller amounts, between ₹10-70 crore. In comparison, a global institutional investor may commit about ₹200 crore for a fund.
Boosting credibility
After deciding against the initial plan of tapping foreign investors, the firm now intends to post ‘good progress’ for the first fund in terms of internal rate of returns (IRR), which would also increase its ‘credibility’. Over the past two years, Stakeboat Capital has invested about ₹95 crore in Sankalp Semi Conductors and Lexir Resources. The fund is now looking at investing $5-7-million growth capital across technology, financial services and healthcare sectors.
Following the completion of these investments, Stakeboat Capital will look at raising the $200 million fund in the next financial year.
Plans for growth
On Maxivision Eye Care Hospitals, an eyecare chain he owns, Velu said that plans to expand its presence across South India are under way.
“We are now looking at both organic and inorganic growth for Maxivision. We are planning to infuse another ₹50 crore in the eyecare chain,” Velu.
On Neuberg Diagnostics, another firm he founded, Velu said the company will record ₹500 crore in revenues this year.
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