Nitin Agarwal has stepped down as the managing director for the Indian operations of TPG NewQuest, sources told Moneycontrol. Agarwal had begun working with the investor in 2019 after ending nearly a decade-long journey with CLSA where he was co-head of the private equity (PE) business.
Over the course of his 23-year career, Agarwal has worked at large companies such as Motilal Oswal PE, JP Morgan, American Express and Infosys, according to his LinkedIn. Agarwal was the MD of Hong Kong-based NewQuest until 2019 and later became a part of the US-based PE giant TPG when the latter fully acquired the former in 2021 and brought the company under its fold to increase focus on Asian markets, thereby becoming TPG NewQuest.
With his decision to move on, Agarwal now joins a growing list of veteran fund managers who are leaving venture capital and PE firms to strike out on their own or adopt a different style of investing, Moneycontrol had reported earlier.
Over the past months, Eight Roads Ventures’ Raj Dugar, Nexus Venture Partners’ Sameer Brij Verma and several others are known to be moving on and starting their own venture funds.
While Agarwal’s next move remains unknown, he has cut his teeth as an investor who has backed companies across industries, including financial services, consumer, education, business services, logistics and more, over the past years.
Agarwal led the secondaries PE fund for TPG NewQuest and had managed around $2.5 billion in assets (assets under management). He made both secondary and primary investments in India, a market that is becoming increasingly crucial for investors across the world.
It remains unclear who has taken up Agarwal’s duties internally and who will replace him in the top job.
TPG NewQuest declined to comment on the developments.
Across the world, TPG has several products and functions, including TPG Digital Media, TPG Healthcare Partners, Directs, TPG Capital, and TPG Growth. Through different arms, TPG has increased exposure in India, the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, over the past years.
While TPG NewQuest backs startups like IPO-bound FirstCry and others in India. At a larger level, through other divisions, the PE giant invested in large startups like Lenskart, Shadowfax, Dream11, BookMyShow and more. It has also backed traditional businesses like Dodla Dairy, Motherhood (chain of hospitals), Campus shoes and more.
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