Dalmia Nisus Finance to buy two PE funds with total asset of Rs 850 cr

Mumbai-based fund manager Dalmia Nisus Finance Investment Managers is looking to buy two real estate private equity funds with a total asset under management (AUM) of Rs 850 crore. 

Dalmia Nisus Finance is promoted by Mumbai-based Dalmia Group and a fund manager named Nisus Finance.

“We will buy two funds with AUM of Rs 450 crore and Rs 400 crore, respectively. It will be a secondary buyout,” said Amit Goenka, managing director at Nisus Finance.

“In the current environment, real estate asset management needs skill sets and wherewithal to give exits. Both groups are well capitalised to bring in capital and give exits,” Goenka said.

He added that the fund manager has started due diligence for the buy outs. Dalmia Nisus Finance is also looking to raise a Rs 350 crore offshore fund and close the same by the end of this year. In addition, the fund manager is looking to do the first close of Rs 250 crore for its domestic real estate fund by the end of this month from family offices and corporate treasuries.

It plans to raise another Rs 250 crore by September. The fund titled “Real Estate Credit Opportunities Fund 1” has a targeted corpus of Rs 500 crore. The real estate fund has already invested Rs 65 crore in a project of Advaitha Ventures, managed by Sriram Properties and is planning to do one investment in Bangalore and two in Mumbai.

Nisus Finance has raised Rs 430 crore for its maiden fund and has returned Rs 300 crore to its investors. Dalmia group has invested Rs 4,000 crore in real estate and is currently managing a book of Rs 2,000 crore. Dalmia Nisus Finance’s plans come at a time when very few fund managers are raising funds for real estate and existing fund managers have turned cautious in lending to the sector.

However, private equity investment in real estate rose 26 per cent in the first half of this year to $3.9 billion (nearly Rs 28,000 crore) driven by higher inflow in commercial and warehousing projects by global investors, according to property consultant Colliers.

During the first six months of the year, PE investments in commercial office assets accounted for 42 per cent share of total investments. Investors pumped in $1.2 billion into the retail sector, accounting for 31 per cent share.