L Catterton’s India-Focussed Consumer Fund Marks First Close At $200 Mn

L Catterton’s India-focussed consumer fund has reportedly marked its first close at $200 Mn (about INR 1,760 Cr). 

The investment vehicle, L Catterton India Fund (Fund I or the Fund), was launched by L Catterton Asia and former Hindustan Unilever Ltd executive Sanjiv Mehta last year to invest in mid-market consumer businesses in India. 

The private equity fund has a target of raising $400 Mn, with an additional greenshoe option of $200 Mn, ET reported, citing sources. 

Inc42 has reached out to the firm for additional details on the development. The story will be updated on receiving a response. 

The PE fund is said to have received commitments from World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and some clients of Kotak Private, the private banking and wealth management division of Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

Notably, in May this year, the IFC proposed a $30 Mn infusion in the fund. “The Fund is seeking to raise up to $600 Mn in aggregate capital commitments. IFC proposes an equity investment of up to $30 Mn in the Fund (capped at 19.9% of the total commitments in the Fund),” the IFC said in a disclosure then. 

The fund will look to invest in food and beverage businesses, consumer services brands in healthcare, and retail segments, among others. It is expected to invest in 7-9 companies, with average ticket size in the range of $25 Mn to150 Mn. It has made one investment so far in D2C healthy snacking brand Farmley. 

While Mehta is currently the executive chairman of L Catterton of India, Anjana Sasidharan and Vikram Kumaraswamy are the co-heads of India arm operations. 

The commitment of L Catterton, a consumer-focused investment firm with assets under management (AUM) of $37 Bn, in the fund will be capped at 19.9%. The investment firm claims to have made over 275 investments since its inception in 1989, and counts the likes of PVR, Drools, Sugar Cosmetics, FabIndia and Jio Platforms in its India portfolio.

The development comes at a time when the Indian consumer internet space is seeing a lot of interest from investors. Recently, consumer-focussed VC firm Venturi Partners marked the first close of its second fund at $150 Mn. The fund with a target corpus of $225 Mn aims to back startups in the retail, education, healthcare and FMCG space in India and Southeast Asia. 

Last month, early and growth stage-focussed VC firm Atomic Capital announced the final close of its maiden fund at INR 400 Cr. It aims to back startups operating in the consumer tech and consumer-enabler segments.