Canbank VC to deploy big part of Rs 500 cr corpus in 2013

Canbank Venture Capital Fund Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Canara Bank, is set to deploy a major portion of the present fund -- Emerging India Growth Fund (EIGF) during 2013. While Canara Bank is the anchor investor in EIGF with Rs 100 crore, other main investors include the Oriental Bank of Commerce, IFCI, SIDBI among 18 public sector banks and institutions.

Canbank Venture Capital is at present investing from its fifth fund, EIGF, with an existing corpus of Rs 455 crore and plans to raise the remaining from institutional investors so as to take the total corpus of the fund to the targeted level of Rs 500 crore. Depending on the pace of the investments, which will pan out during 2013, the fund managers may also seek an extension of the fund life by a year.

S Thiruvadi, MD, Canbank Venture Capital Fund, told Business Standard that they went slow initially during early 2011 due to the then weak macro-economic situations. He added that with certain changes in the investment guidelines, the fund now focuses on investments in the range of Rs 10-25 crore in the mid-corporate and SME segments. The fund has so far invested around Rs 100 crore and should be touching the Rs 180-crore mark by March 2013 and expects to invest the balance fund during the year, Thiruvadi added.

He added that on average an investment fructifies in a span of 6-9 months and since they have a good pipeline of projects, many of them are expected to fructify during 2013. The fund on Friday announced that it has invested in Mysore-based Vinyas Innovative Technologies, engaged in Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). The activity constitutes PCB assembly, integrated and box builds, and works with corporate houses, including L&T, BEL, EMCO and Philips .

Canbank Venture Capital is investing Rs 10 crore for the expansion of Vinyas, which is expanding its production capacity at a total cost of Rs 24 crore.