Latest news with #SamaraCapital
Mint
26-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Samara sends a signal of confidence in a tight fundraising climate
Mumbai: As it readies for the final close of its third fund in a cautious environment, Samara Capital is poised to join a small league of investment firms in India that have fully returned money to investors with gains. The private equity firm plans to wind down its 11-year-old second fund over the next three months and will fully return the proceeds from its exits to its limited partners, said a person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 'The second fund has already exited nine out of 10 investments and expects to return the balance amount by September," the person cited above said, adding that the tenth exit will happen over the next month. The fund has clocked a 3.5x gross multiple on invested capital, with a 25% internal rate of return, according to the person. Samara declined to comment. Limited partners (LPs) or investors are increasingly looking at the track record of general partners, who manage these funds, before committing more money. That has prompted investment firms in India to consider cashing out some of their bets to return money to their LPs. Quadria Capital returned its first fund of a similar vintage in 2023-end, Mint reported at the time. Samara raised upwards of $300 million in 2014 for its second fund, but the total amount was higher because of co-investments by LPs. 'Samara didn't lose money on any of the investments and the continuation fund has further enabled them to get quicker exits," the person quoted earlier added. A continuation fund allows managers to hold on to investments for longer by transferring assets from a fund nearing closure. Some of Samara's prominent exits from the second fund include the sale of Spoton Logistics to Delhivery; stake sale in AIG Hospital to Quadria Capital; sale of Lotus Surgicals to Tube Investments and Premji Invest; sale of stake in Oaknet Healthcare toEris Lifesciences. It also offloaded stakes in medical devices firm Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT) Ltd, staffing firm First Meridian Business Services Pvt. Ltd and biryani restaurant Paradise Food Court Pvt. Ltd through a $150 million continuation fund led by TR Capital in 2023. 'Funds of the 2014 vintage have, in many cases, traversed complex economic cycles and regulatory landscapes," said Ketan Mukhija, a senior partner at Burgeon Law, said. 'Those that have successfully returned capital demonstrate effective governance, strategic exits, and a commitment to investor alignment—hallmarks of well-managed alternative investment vehicles." To date, Samara has deployed about ₹10,000 crore across all its funds. The India-focused private equity firm typically invests in mid-market companies poised for growth, focusing on consumer/retail, healthcare/pharma, financial services, and business services/technology sectors. Across the three funds, the firm has made over 25 acquisitions for its portfolio companies, including roll-ups. A roll-up involves acquiring and merging smaller companies in the same sector to create a larger consolidated entity. Bain Capital and Carlyle, too, have used this strategy to consolidate their acquisitions in auto components and pharmaceuticals. Over the years, Samara has seen its average ticket size increase from ₹300-700 crore, including co-investments in the second fund, to ₹500-1500 crore in the third fund. The company is currently deploying from its third fund, which has a target size of ₹2,000 crore with an additional green shoe option of ₹3,000 crore, according to a Crisil report published in July last year. The credit rating agency assigned Fund Management Grading – 1 to Samara Alternate Investment Fund III India. On a 1-5 scale, it describes 1 as 'very strong'. Crisil said Samara's offshore funds have delivered a mixed bag, with the first fund generating weak performance despite an extension of four-and-a-half years. The investment firm's first AIF registered with Sebi has drawn down approximately one-third of its total commitments and has performed better than most of its peers in terms of distribution to paid-in capital (cash returned to limited partners) as of September 2023, the credit rating firm said.
Entrepreneur
13-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
More Retail Prepares for ₹2000 Crore IPO, Aims 3000 Stores by 2030
The report said that the listing will be mostly through a fresh capital infusion and most likely no offer for sale (OFS) component, as the Amazon-Samara's investment entity based in Singapore is unlikely to offload its shares as part of the IPO. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. More Retail, owned by the Amazon-Samara Capital partnership, is reportedly planning an INR 2,000 crore initial public offering (IPO) in the upcoming 12-18 months, with a dilution of approximately 10 per cent of its equity, said Vinod Nambiar, More Retail's managing director Vinod Nambiar, according to the Economic Times. The report said that the listing will be mostly through a fresh capital infusion and most likely no offer for sale (OFS) component, as the Amazon-Samara's investment entity based in Singapore is unlikely to offload its shares as part of the IPO. Amazon and Samara currently hold 51 percent and 48 percent of More Retail, respectively, with the remaining 1 percent held by high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and various family offices. Initially, More Retail was a part of Aditya Birla Group, and then sold to its investors Samara Capital and Amazon, in 2019 for INR 4,300 crore. Since the purchase, the promoters have brought in INR 900 crore in capital, which was mainly used towards reducing its debt, according to Nambiar. According to the report, the company's remaining debt is part term loan and part non-commercial borrowings. Nambiar also told ET that the current business model is not capital hungry, as opening a More Retail store only costs INR 30 lakh because of the company's leasing model with all its real estate. Nambiar also said that the company will use the fresh capital through IPO to bolster its business operations and reduce some of its INR 500 crore debt. More Retail is also planning to expand its physical store presence to 3,000 by 2030. Currently, the company operates more than 800 stores across the country. More Retail enjoys a strong presence in South India, Haryana, NCR, Punjab, and West Bengal, while actively expanding to the eastern front through Jharkhand and Odisha this financial year. The retail chain has also exited saturated areas such as Mumbai.
