Avendus, a prominent investment bank in India, is seeking to secure approximately $300 million for its private equity division, as reported by three sources familiar with the situation.
With the support of U.S. private equity giant KKR, the Mumbai-based firm has positioned itself as a leading financial advisor in India. It has successfully collaborated with well-known growth-stage startups such as Zepto, LensKart, XpressBees, CaratLane, and Atomberg to secure funding for their operations in the previous year.
According to one source, Avendus intends to increase the size and frequency of its investments with its third private equity fund. In 2021, the firm successfully raised its second fund, totaling approximately $185 million. The initial fund had a size of $50 million.
The sources preferred to keep their identities confidential when discussing private matters. An Avendus spokesperson did not provide any comment.
Avendus rose to prominence as India’s startup ecosystem began to emerge, seizing the opportunity when other prominent players such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan initially overlooked the Indian market. That was partly because the deal sizes in the early days were usually under $30 million, which wasn’t substantial enough to generate significant fees. As a result, it was less appealing for many well-known companies to get involved.
As the Indian startup ecosystem has blossomed over the past decade, it has caught the attention of major players in the global market. Companies like SoftBank, Tiger Global, and General Atlantic, along with sovereign wealth funds such as Temasek, GIC, ADIA, Khazanah, PIB, and Mubadala, have invested billions of dollars into startups of all sizes in India.
Avendus has a team of over 150 skilled bankers and was named India’s leading financial advisor last year. It offered services in more than 30 deals, including merger and acquisition transactions, as reported by Venture Intelligence, a private market insight platform.
Over the past decade, Avendus has expanded its range of services to include wealth management, credit financing, and private equity, just like other financial advisors in different regions. In addition to that, the company also broadened its range of financial advisory services to include the Southeast Asian region last year.
