End To Rumors: JP Morgan Asset Management Buys Canaan Partners’ India portfolio

Foreign fund house, JP Morgan Asset Management has bought the early stage investor Canaan Partners’ India portfolio for over $200 Mn (about INR1,260 Cr). The news was reported by us last month stating it to be the largest secondary portfolio sale in India’s private equity and venture capital market.

It was earlier stated that there were at least three other investment firms including Delhi-based Madison India Capital bidding to buy Canaan’s India portfolio.

Silicon-valley based, Canaan Partners had ventured India in 2006. Since then the firm has invested $160-170 Mn in over 15 Indian companies including Matrimony.com, CarTrade, Naaptol, Happiest Minds Technologies, Iyogi and Equitas Holdings ceasing  its operations in the country late last year.

Avneet Kochar, regional adviser for private equity at JP Morgan Asset Management, who was leading the deal discussions for the fund house, has also started joining board of various Canaan portfolio companies in India.

The people associated with the development like Murugavel Janakiraman, founder of Matrimony.com and Indiaproperty.com, and Vinay Sanghi, founder & CEO of CarTrade.com have confirmed the deal stating, “JP Morgan is an investor in us now; it’s good to have them on board.”

Sources familiar to the development have also mentioned that JP Morgan has been looking to make investments in Indian venture capital and internet space.