Gaja Capital to raise $400 mn for new fund, IFC planning to commit $25 mn

Gaja Capital is planning to raise $400 million for its new fund, which will target mid-size companies in the education, healthcare and other areas. International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to commit around $25 million equity in the new fund.

The fund is targeting $400 million in commitments to invest in 12-15 mid-sized companies, with enterprise value of upto $150 million, in the education, healthcare, financial services, consumer and SaaS sectors.

The fund will continue to replicate the strategy of its predecessors along with a high-touch engagement model to drive scale and transformation in investees, said the World Bank's investment arm, IFC.

IFC’s proposed commitment is rupee equivalent of up to $25 million in the equity with an equivalent amount of co-investment envelope, subject to IFC’s investment not being more than 10 per cent of the aggregate commitment to Gaja Capital India Fund 2020 (Fund or Gaja 2020), a scheme of Gaja Trustee Company Private Limited, at final close.

The fund is domiciled in India and will look to make equity investments in India. It will be managed by Gaja Advisors Private Limited, an independent fund manager. It was founded in 2005 and is led by Gopal Jain, Ranjit Shah and Imran Jafar, who have been working together since 2005.  

IFC said that the fund will lead to increased access to private equity capital, value creation for small to mid-cap companies in India, and improved access to digital services for individuals and enhanced productivity growth and cost savings for businesses through digital solutions.

The main market-creation outcomes are strengthening the competitiveness of the PE market in India by supporting a local fund manager scale up and demonstrate sustained track record, signaling the viability of the small to mid-cap control segment and countering the wary perceptions in this space, said IFC.