Tata Capital to raise money for PE funds

The world may be strapped for cash but Tata Group's finance arm, Tata Capital, says its plans raise capital for its private equity funds. CNBC-TV18’s Kenan Machado reports.

Here is a verbatim transcript of Kenan Machado’s comments on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

Swimming against the tide is something Tata Capital seems quite adept at. First, it raised money through non-convertible debentures, when the markets were placid. Now, it is launching three funds at a time when even global players are struggling for cash. The first one will be a mid-market fund, which will look to raise USD 350-400 million.

Says Praveen Kadle, MD, Tata Capital, “We are launching our domestic fund in the next 30-60 days. We should also be completting all the formatilities required for our international fund raising for the same fund. So that offering will be in the market place soon.”

A USD 100 million technology fund is also on the cards. Once these two funds are out of the way, Tata Capital will launch a third, this one focussing on the healthcare sector. Kadle's Tata Motors lineage could mean that the auto sector features high on Tata Capital's investment radar.

Kadle further added, “We are seeing good credit demand from some of the component manufacturers and because of our close association with many of these component suppliers we are in the position to meet their credit requirements.”

Kadle claims the Tata Group will stick to its earlier promise of getting its companies to participate in the funds. This, despite media reports that Tata Sons is looking to raise cash by selling some of its stake in group companies.