Ex-Temasek India Executives Target $400 Million for Fund Debut
(Bloomberg) -- Padmanabh Sinha and Vibhor Kumar Talreja, who worked together at Temasek Holdings Pte more than a decade ago, have teamed up to start LaunchBay Capital, an India-focused growth equity firm.
LaunchBay is targeting to raise $400 million from international and domestic institutional investors, including about $100 million to $150 million for co-investment capital, Sinha said.
Sinha left National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd. in April after serving as chief investment officer for private equity for nearly four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously he was a managing partner at Tata Opportunities Fund, the private equity platform at the Tata Group conglomerate. Before that, Sinha was a managing director and co-led the India business at Temasek.
Talreja was most recently the co-chief investment officer at Eversource, a climate investment firm backed by UK-based Lightsource BP and Everstone Capital. He will join LaunchBay as a co-founder in August.
Sinha and Talreja worked together at Temasek for nearly four years from 2007 through 2011, where they teamed up on several deals. Talreja spent more than 12 years until 2019.
The fund will take minority stakes of between $25 million and $50 million in eight to 10 companies across sectors that include health care and consumer, Sinha said.
India remained a bright spot in Asia in terms of dealmaking last year, according to a Bain & Co. report. The country was the region's largest exit market and the initial public offerings exit value increased 78% year-on-year in 2024. Fundraising continues to be challenging for private equity firms, even though India-focused funds increased their share to 10% in 2024 from 7% in 2019, the Bain report said.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
First Published: 6 May 2025, 01:08 PM IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
20 minutes ago
- Mint
S Chand's quiet masterclass: How a legacy publisher outmanoeuvred the edtech bust
MUMBAI: At a time when India's leading edtech firms are struggling with job cuts, financial write-downs, and investor fatigue, the 75-year-old S Chand and Company is providing a valuable lesson in measured and sustainable reinvention. The legacy education content publisher posted a 65% jump in operating income in FY25 and ended the year with over ₹100 crore in cash reserves, without raising fresh capital or going all-in on digital pivots. In an exclusive interview with Mint, Saurabh Mittal, chief financial officer of S Chand, said the company's focus has been clear: resist the hype, avoid overextension and double down on content that works across formats—print and digital alike. Also read: Education, manufacturing transformation key to India becoming developed: NITI Aayog chief executive 'Education is a staircase business, not an elevator business," Mittal said. 'We'd rather grow 8% and generate ₹100 crore in cash than chase 20% growth with just ₹50 crore in profits." The company's approach stands in contrast to the aggressive expansion and high burn rates that defined much of India's edtech sector in recent years. While players like BYJU's and Unacademy raised billions to build full-stack platforms, S Chand chose to stay conservative by cutting inefficiencies, expanding its digital content library and preparing its backend systems for modular deployment. Reinventing without the noise Delhi-based S Chand hasn't built its own tech platform. It hasn't acquired flashy startups. It doesn't spend on advertising. And yet, it has emerged from the Covid years leaner, more profitable and more agile. 'Our tech stack is fully consolidated, but we haven't tried to build it ourselves," Mittal said. 'Enough vendors are building good tools. We focus on content and let tech specialists handle distribution layers." The company's digital content library has expanded by nearly 30% over the last two years, with new content across national-level education boards CBSE, ICSE and NEP-aligned curricula. Test-prep material, tie-ups with educational YouTubers and QR-enabled Google Lens (image recognition technology) integrations are also part of the growing ecosystem. Print, however, remains the mainstay. 'K–8 books still drive the bulk of revenues," Mittal said. 'Despite the noise, most schools that switched to tablets have moved back to print. Books are cheaper, simpler to use and less distracting." Betting on NEP The ongoing implementation of India's National Education Policy (NEP) and new curriculum frameworks is proving to be a structural tailwind. As National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks are updated and state boards begin aligning their syllabi, S Chand is often a first mover in content creation. Also read: Implement educational reforms in honour of Dr Kasturirangan (1940-2025) While Mittal acknowledged that states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka have resisted adopting the NCERT framework, he described the overall NEP-driven rollout as a tailwind. 'We already created NCF (national curriculum framework)-based content two years ago. Now we're mapping it to the actual NCERT textbooks as they come out," he said. The NEP 2020, which replaced the previous National Policy on Education of 1986, is a comprehensive education policy that aims to transform India's education system from early childhood to higher education. The NCF provides a roadmap for how to implement NEP's vision in classrooms through curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment practices. The company is also looking to fill white spaces in its portfolio via selective acquisitions. Two potential targets are under active consideration—one in the exam-prep segment and another focused on international curriculum content such as Cambridge or International Baccalaureate (IB), areas where S Chand currently lacks scale. But the CFO is clear: valuations must be reasonable. 'Some players expect 2x revenue valuations. That's unrealistic in this category unless there's exceptional growth or margins," he said. 'We're not paying a premium when we ourselves are trading below that." Not competing, just enduring In many ways, S Chand's strategy is not to directly compete with high-decibel edtech brands, but to endure alongside them. The company positions itself as a content-first, platform-neutral player. 'We don't see ourselves competing with BYJU's or Physics Wallah," Mittal said. 'We're not trying to be a tech company. We're an education content company that delivers across formats." That stance has also helped the company sidestep the challenges faced by venture-funded edtech platforms, many of which expanded rapidly during Covid and are now cutting costs or winding down verticals. Also read: Despite high income, HNIs in India struggle with financial goals like retirement planning, childrens education: Report 'There was a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) and hype during the pandemic. But learning outcomes were not always great. In fact, many schools and countries like those in Scandinavia have gone back to physical classrooms," Mittal noted. The company also avoids large marketing campaigns or brand-led spends. Growth is driven primarily by school relationships, workshops and teacher-enablement programmes. 'We do over 4,000 teacher workshops a year. That's where our impact is felt," he said. Preparing for the next decade Mittal acknowledged that higher education textbooks have seen a decline, with college students increasingly going digital. But the K–8 market, he said, remains resilient. For older students (Classes 9–12), hybrid learning is gaining some traction, but the overall addressable market is relatively small compared to early school years. Importantly, S Chand's content is already structured to go digital when required. 'Every book we create now has videos, assessments and platform-readiness built in," Mittal said. 'If a school wants to switch tomorrow, we're ready." Even though it has explored monetizing its digital intellectual properties (IPs) or spinning off subsidiaries in the past, the company is now focused on internal consolidation. 'We're merging entities back to stay efficient. Raising funds just for the sake of it doesn't make sense," he said. Re-engaging with investors Having stayed quiet on the investor front in recent years, S Chand is now preparing to re-engage with capital markets. 'We wanted first to deliver consistent results. Now that we've done that, it's time to go out and grab more eyeballs," Mittal said. After decades in print and a public listing in 2017, the company's current evolution is quiet, yet noteworthy, characterized by a lean, profitable and selective approach. While the edtech giants chased velocity, S Chand stayed grounded and is now reaping the dividends.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
US importers turn to brokers to navigate Trump-era tariffs, at a cost
U.S. importers are increasingly relying on customs brokers to keep up with President Donald Trump 's ever-changing trade policies. But booming demand for help in processing foreign goods has made these services more expensive, adding another cost to the tariff burden, industry players told Reuters. Customs brokerages, until recently an anonymous branch of the import ecosystem, handle the paperwork needed to process shipments and calculate tariff bills. Mom-and-pop brokers interviewed by Reuters say they are raising fees, while major logistics firms like Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx and Germany-based DHL are also adding staff to their customs compliance teams. Market research firms ballpark customs brokering as a roughly $5 billion industry in the United States. Hiring a broker is optional, but the increasing complexities of U.S. tariffs and customs regulations are leading more importers to shell out the cash. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search ads Learn More Undo Independent brokers like Laredo, Texas-based JD Gonzalez are fielding dozens of questions daily from concerned clients struggling to understand what they may owe to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and whether to go ahead with shipments or hold off. Brokers are also spending more time and labor on customs forms than ever, and have in some cases implemented new IT systems. Live Events "With all the new information we have to process, some of the automation we've used has been thrown out, so there's more work to do," said JD Gonzalez, who is also president of custom brokerage trade group NCBFAA. The trend is part of a broader wave of corporate efforts to bolster trade compliance operations. Major companies, from Nike to Amazon to Lowe's, had published job postings as of Wednesday for trade and customs professionals. Nike was seeking a "lead" for trade and customs, who would "play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our trade compliance framework," according to the post on Nike's careers website. Amazon, meanwhile, had at least 10 U.S. customs brokerage jobs listed on its careers website. Lowe's had three. Nike, Amazon and Lowe's did not respond to requests for comment. HIGHER FEES Independent brokers often base their fees on the number of codes they must enter to classify the contents of a given shipment. Known as harmonized tariff schedule codes, these line items help border officials distinguish car parts from children's toys, and determine proper tariff rates. Prior to Trump's frenetic tariff policies, fees ranged from around $4 to $7 per code. But Gonzalez said the extra costs brokers have incurred as they ramp up systems to handle the tariff changes have led some to increase fees by $1 to $5 per code. Gonzalez said he has raised fees "nominally," while Steve Bozicevic, CEO of A&A Customs Brokers headquartered in Seattle and Vancouver, said his company added $3 per product type being imported into the U.S. because of merchandise facing "tariff stacking," a phrase used when an item faces multiple tariffs. "We raised the rates for the U.S. because of the new and added complexity," Bozicevic said. The company has not raised rates for imports into Canada because there's "no new complexity," he said. United Parcel Service raised brokerage rates in December between $3.75 and $50 per import entry, depending on the country of origin. The move was part of general rate increases and unrelated to changes in tariffs, a UPS spokesperson told Reuters. FedEx's logistics arm increased its base customs brokerage rates by 4% in January, according to a company spokesperson. These bigger logistics companies, which include brokerage services in their broader shipping offerings, are also beefing up staff. DHL has upped headcount on its U.S. customs entry team by 30% since February, according to a spokesperson for the company's DHL Express shipping unit. FedEx had more than 40 open job postings on its customs and trade teams as of Tuesday, mainly based in the U.S., according to its LinkedIn jobs page. UPS had 10 similar U.S. positions open, according to its jobs website. FedEx is "adjusting our network to meet demand" in an evolving tariff landscape, which "includes hiring additional customs brokerage roles," the spokesperson said. UPS declined to comment on the job postings. Historically, tariff changes have been less frequent, say brokers, trade lawyers and other trade professionals, and they have come with weeks of lead time, allowing brokers to prepare for the change and provide logistical feedback to CBP. Compare that to last week's doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, which Trump announced abruptly, forcing the U.S. customs department to quickly publish official guidance just hours ahead of a midnight change. "Many brokers clear shipments ahead of time, so then you have to come back and retroactively redo it and fix it," said Miami-based customs broker Ralph De La Rosa, whose company, Imperial Freight Brokers, was founded by his father 54 years ago. Even brokers who have not raised fees said their services have become inherently more expensive as the number of HTS codes has spiked. Importers slowed shipments into the United States after Trump's massive tariff announcement on April 2, after having frontloaded purchases earlier in the year to get ahead of an expected rise in duties. Imports of consumer goods, which include cell phones and other household items, decreased $68.9 billion to $277.9 billion in April from a month before, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Trump announced additional tariffs on steel and aluminum in June and in May threatened to impose 50% tariffs on the European Union. Adding to the uncertainty, a federal appellate court on Tuesday ruled that sweeping tariffs may remain in effect while appeals proceed, after a trade court ruled that the U.S. president overstepped his executive powers and blocked the duties. The appellate scheduled arguments for July 31.
Hans India
23 minutes ago
- Hans India
Piyush Goyal begins Sweden visit to identify new opportunities for trade growth
New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday began his official visit to Sweden, aimed at reinforcing the existing robust economic relationship and identifying new opportunities for growth which are aligned with India's long-term economic objectives and global partnerships. The Union Minister's Sweden visit comes after a successful two-day official visit to Switzerland, which focused on advancing India–Switzerland economic cooperation and operationalising the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) signed earlier this year between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). In the second leg of the official tour, the minister will co-chair the 21st Session of the Indo-Swedish Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial, and Scientific Cooperation (JCEISC) with Benjamin Dousa, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. Goyal is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Dousa and Hakan Jevrell, State Secretary to the Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. These deliberations are aimed at reinforcing the existing robust economic relationship and identifying new opportunities for growth, aligning with India's long-term economic objectives and global partnerships, according to a statement from the Commerce Ministry. During the visit, key engagements will involve an India-Sweden Business Leaders' roundtable and one-on-one meetings with leading Swedish companies. These discussions will cover a wide range of industries where Sweden excels, including advanced manufacturing, innovation, green technologies, and sustainable solutions. Companies like Ericsson, Volvo Group, IKEA, Sandvik, Alfa Laval, and SAAB are among those with a significant presence or interest in enhancing ties with India. Minister Goyal will also engage with the Indian diaspora and address media interactions, further strengthening the people-to-people connections and communicating the vision for the India-Sweden partnership. According to the official statement, the visit reflects the deepening alignment of strategic priorities between India and its European partners, aiming to translate high-level commitments into sustainable economic partnerships that foster innovation, resilience, and shared growth. Earlier, the Minister engaged extensively with Swiss industry leaders across sectors, including biotech and pharma, healthcare, precision engineering, defence, and emerging technologies. As India charts its journey toward becoming a $5 trillion economy, this visit has set the tone for accelerated collaboration with innovation-driven, trusted partners like Switzerland, said the ministry.
