Sabre, Abraaj Cap to set up $300 m pvt equity fund

Most of the investors in the fund are from West Asia with a few from Europe.

Sabre Capital and Dubai-based private equity firm, Abraaj Capital, have jointly set up a $300 million private equity fund for investing in Indian companies.

Most of the investors in the equity fund are from the Middle East and a few are from Europe. "This fund would open up India to a new pool of capital," said Rajiv Maliwal, managing director, Sabre Capital.

Maliwal said the fund will look at investing in companies with high growth prospects for medium to long term. Companies that have strong growth prospects across different sectors, including those which are buying out foreign firms, would be the investment targets of the fund.

Sabre Capital has a stake in Centurion Bank of Punjab and also is launching a mutual fund jointly with Temasek of Singapore. The asset management company plans to have up to Rs 20,000 crore of assets under management in the next 2-3 years.

Rana Talwar, chairman of Sabre Capital, is also the chairman of the private equity fund launched with Abraaj Capital. The Investment Committee will be chaired by Arif Naqvi, executive vice-chairman and CEO of Abraaj and Sabre's Maliwal will be a member of the investment committee.

"Over the last few years, we have built strong expertise in identifying Indian companies which have extremely robust business models and strong growth prospects. This venture reinforces our conviction in the India growth story and we believe there are a large number of companies across sectors, which have the potential to become industry leaders. We would offer these companies with capital, a knowledgeable and trusting partner and provide access to international markets & management talent," Talwar said.

"UAE's non-oil trade with India has already touched $8 billion. This fund will further bond the special relationship between West Asia and India, and create the next step in their mutual economic growth," said Arif Naqvi.