Bahren-based Investcorp has invested $500 million in 13 companies in India, including online retailer FreshToHome and ASG Eye Hospitals. It also has a $400 million fund for private equity investments in India, which claims to have the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world.
Investcorp now intends to deploy $400 million over four years in real estate in India, Rishi Kapoor said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The two segments he will focus on are school infrastructure and the warehousing sector, which is booming thanks to the rapid expansion of e-commerce in the country of 1.4 billion people, Kapoor said.
“We have made a new investment thesis around investment in schools, educational infrastructure,” he said.
“The average Indian income parent will be tightening their belts on everything other than raising their children, so the underlying space is very attractive.”
India is witnessing unprecedented growth in e-commerce and logistics, with companies like Amazon and Flipkart Walmart investing billions of dollars.
Another fast-growing sector in India is clean mobility, and Investcorp said it would target investment in clean energy and climate technology, although plans have yet to be determined.
The separate $400 million fund for private equity investment in India that Investcorp has announced will be used to target sectors such as health and wellness and consumer technology, Kapoor added.
“This is actually a good time to spread the capital, we are looking at some opportunities now,” he said, declining to name specific companies.
Global private equity firm General Atlantic told Reuters on Sunday it plans to spend $2 billion in India and Southeast Asia over the next two years, after falling valuations made more start-ups attractive in the region.
