Religare forms JV with Milestone Capital; to invest Rs 60 cr

Reliance Enterprises today said its venture capital arm has entered into an equal joint venture with private equity firm Milestone Capital for managing a Rs 600-crore healthcare and education fund.

Under the partnership, Religare along with its affiliates, has committed to contribute Rs 60 crore in a new investment management company which would manage Milestone's current 'India Build-Out Fund'.

The fund has an existing corpus of over Rs 100 crore, the financial services provider said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"The fund size will be Rs 600 crore. The minimum commitment amount will be Rs 10 lakh, the life of fund will be five years, while 18 months will be the commitment period," Milestone CEO and MD Ved Prakash Arya said.

"Religare has been expanding into all spheres of financial services.... Healthcare and education are two sectors which we believe are poised for balance growth," Religare CEO and MD Sunil Godhwani said.

"In addition to the existing experience of the private equity team of Milestone, Religare has drawn on some senior medical professionals from its group with experience in healthcare delivery and in improving operational efficiencies," the filing added.

Shares of Religare were trading at Rs 324.40, up 0.02 per cent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.