Gautam Bhandari set to leave Morgan Stanley Infra

Gautam Bhandari, the India head of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), is set to leave the company. According to sources, Bhandari has plans to launch an India-focused infrastructure fund along with a former colleague. The details of the proposed fund are not known yet.

MSIP, the $4-billion infrastructure fund of US banking giant Morgan Stanley, has made investments worth about $1 billion (Rs5,600 crore) in India so far. Under the leadership of Bhandari, MSIP made a few big ticket deals in companies such as Asian Genco, Indus Concessions and the recent Rs1200-crore buyout of wind power firm Continuum wind energy.

Bhandari was appointed in 2008 to lead the investments for MSIP in India, West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Previously, Bhandari was based in New York with the Morgan Stanley’s investment banking division with a focus on engineering and construction, industrial services and alternative energy sectors.

When contacted, Bhandari said he did not want to comment on the subject. Mail sent to a Morgan Stanley spokesperson did not elicit any response. Bhandari, during his seven-year stint at Morgan Stanley, worked with the firm’s global capital markets group, focusing on structured financings, hedges and securitisations.

However, the experts believe that fund-raising, especially in the infrastructure sector, will be difficult for Indian fund managers in the current scenario.

Though nine infra-focused funds were launched in India with a plan to raise about Rs20,000 crore during 2009-2012, the funds managed to raise only Rs7,800 crore so far.

The uncertainties in the infrastructure space due to regulatory hurdles and lack of fuel availability have affected private equity investments in 2012. Compared with 60 private equity/venture capital investments worth $3 billion in 2011, this space witnessed 13 deals worth $227 million till May in 2012.