News: Matrix raises $150m for India fund

Bangalore - Private equity firm Matrix Partners India on Wednesday said it has raised $150 million with Matrix Partners US for an India-specific venture fund. The fund, said to be the first of its kind in India, will focus on early stage and growing businesses in the internet, mobile, financial services, media, healthcare, travel and leisure sectors for a period of four to six years.

Avnish Bajaj, who founded the online auction portal Bazee.com that was sold later to eBay Inc, and former managing director of WestBridge Capital Partners, Rishi Navani, started Matrix India. The fund was raised from several US university endowments and family foundations.

“We are looking at a couple of investments by December. In a year, we are looking at making four to six investments a year,” Matrix Partners India founding managing director Avnish Bajaj said here.

Matrix Capital Management Fund, the US private equity player’s hedge fund, has invested over $100 million out of its $1.3 billion corpus in shares of Indian companies that have predictable growing cash flows.

Rishi Navani said the investments would be between Rs 2 crore and Rs 20 crore in internet ventures and about Rs 50 crore in financial services firms.

Matrix Partners US, managing partner Timothy A Barrows said the India fund had generated enough interest among its investors and if there is a need, a second fund could be raised at the earliest.