Bahrain's Investcorp Launches India Ops With $450m Portfolio

Bahrain-based Investcorp has announced the launch of Investcorp India Asset Managers Limited and the opening of its first India office.

The office will have $450 million assets under management (AuM) and a team of 21 investment professionals, the company said in a statement.

The launch was announced by Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman in the presence of Deepak Parekh, member of the Investcorp International Advisory Board and Rishi Kapoor and Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEOs of Investcorp.

The launch of Investcorp India Asset Managers Limited and opening of the India office, Investcorp’s eighth globally and second in Asia after Singapore, is part of its growth and diversification plan.

The launch comes after the closure of the acquisition of a Private Equity and Real Estate investment management business in India, its first deal in the country.

“The Indian economy is the fastest growing amongst all the emerging markets and we are excited to be able to contribute towards this narrative. The opening of Investcorp India is a major milestone in our global expansion plan and our target would be to grow our AuM in India significantly in the medium term,” said Alardhi.

“Today we have added the India growth story to our slate of product offerings for our investors globally,” added Kapoor. “Strong domestic consumption underpinned by a young population, a rising middle class and continuing economic reforms are some of the key reasons why we chose India for our second Asian office. We are very bullish about the opportunity for attractive returns for private equity and structured credit investments in India over the medium-long term.”

The company earlier this month reported a 5 percent increase in net income to $58 million for the six months ending December 31.

The global provider and manager of alternative investment products said the rise came despite a "challenging macroeconomic environment".

Deal by deal placement for the period was $571 million, up 23 percent compared to $463 million in the year earlier period, reflecting strong client demand in both private equity and real estate, the company said.