Olympus PE to put Rs 2,800 cr more in infra, tech sectors

Three-year horizon; sequel to Rs 1,350-cr investment in Tata Power.

Olympus Capital, the Asia-focused private equity (PE) fund, is exploring more strategic investment deals with Tata Power and infrastructure supply chain companies.

This follows its Rs 1,350-crore deal a month ago in which it bought 15 per cent in two Tata Power-promoted companies which own coal mines in Indonesia.

The Hong Kong-based firm, with $1.3 billion under management, will invest about $600 million (Rs 2,800 crore) in India in big and established companies in infrastructure supply chain management. In mind were boilers and turbine makers, balance of plant and engineering, procurement and construction companies, besides environmental-friendly technology, agriculture and food processing, information technology and business process outsourcing companies within the next two to three years, Daniel R Mintz, founding managing director of Olympus Capital, told Business Standard.

“Tata Power is an integrated big power sector company, with operations in many green technologies, transmission and distribution, besides power generation. We will be happy to expand the scope of our co-operation. We are evaluating the potential. It is premature to talk specifics,” he said.

Tata Power hoped to expand the strategic partnership with Olympus Capital into other areas of common interest, given their on-the-ground presence throughout Asia and expertise in the energy and power sector, Prasad R Menon, managing director of Tata Power, had said while announcing the deal.

A good share of the funds infused by Olympus Capital will be deployed by Tata Power to acquire more coal mines outside India, in countries such as Indonesia, South Africa, Australia and Mozambique, besides retiring the debt drawn for acquiring the coal mines.

Mintz said the fund would not invest in similar coal mine acquisitions of Indian power companies, but might explore strategic opportunities in mining of other natural resources.

Olympus Capital’s investors include many pension funds, financial institutions, endowments and family offices from North America, Asia, Europe and West Asia. It put about 30 per cent of their $1 billion fund in Tata Power. The firm was looking to invest 30-40 per cent of the remaining $700 million in India within the next two-three years, said Gaurav Malik, managing director, Olympus Capital Holdings Asia.

“We will look at three-four investments in the infrastructure space,” he said.

In addition, the fund would manage about $300 million on behalf of the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation and a majority of these investments would be in India’s infrastructure space, said Mintz. In any event, at least half ($150 million) will be earmarked for India.

Olympus Capital had earlier invested in HDFC Bank and the renewable energy company, Orient Green Power of Shriram EPC. It also imvested in Quatrro BPO, promoted by Raman Roy, who pioneered India’s business process outsourcing industry, and in Sanghvi Movers.