Henry Kravis News

Sorin Investments, an early-stage venture firm founded by former KKR India CEO Sanjay Nayar, made the final close of its maiden fund at Rs 1,350 crore, people aware of the matter told ET. The fund counts KKR cofounder Henry Kravis, and Indian family offices such as Hero Group’s Munjal family and Hong Kong-based The Caravel Group’s Banga family among its key sponsors. Sidbi-sponsored Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme, and a startup fund set up by the Uttar Pradesh state government also took part in the fundraise.

Against a backdrop of intensifying climate protests targeting Wall Street, the heavyweights of US finance are pushing back against what they characterize as a fundamentally flawed debate.

Henry Kravis, an American tycoon, investor, and philanthropist, stands as a cornerstone in the world of finance. Co-founder of the renowned KKR & Co. Inc., Kravis has carved an illustrious path marked by significant achievements, astute investments, and a profound impact on various sectors. In 1976, Kravis co-founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), a financial juggernaut that would redefine the landscape of private equity.

Bank of India (Sidbi) and The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will back Sorin Investments, the startup fund owned by Sanjay Nayar, the former head of private equity firm KKR India, in a major sign of confidence for the veteran banker and deal maker. Both Sidbi and the ₹10,000-crore Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, owned by NSIC Venture Capital Fund (NVCFL), a 100% subsidiary of NSIC, will invest about ₹300 crore into Sorin, said multiple people aware of the development. The fresh investments will help Sorin close its maiden fund at ₹1,300 crore.

Sorin Investments, a technology-focussed fund, co-founded by former KKR India head and private equity veteran Sanjay Nayar and Angad Banga, has raised a corpus of over Rs 1,000 crore for the second close of its maiden fund. It had raised around $100 million (approximately Rs 800 crore) in its first close last year. The tech-focused investment firm’s fundraise comes at a time when the Indian tech startup ecosystem is facing a funding crunch that has seen several investors slash down the valuations of several major Indian tech companies. Investors in the fund include Henry Kravis, George Roberts and other partners of the American global investment firm KKR & Co as well as Hero Enterprise chairperson Sunil Kant Munjal and a few other global and Indian family offices. Nayar and Banga were formerly associated with KKR. Nayar founded Sorin after a four-decade career spanning banking and private equity. Nayar and Banga have also invested a significant amount of their personal capital in the fund as sponsor commitments, they said in an earlier interview without disclosing the sum. The fund focuses on early-stage technology startups across various industries like fintech, edtech, software as a service (Saas), logistics, clean technologies and direct-to-consumer products and brands. It aims to invest between $2-10 million in target companies.

Everybody is talking about succession. No, not the hit US TV drama, but the thorny issue of leadership in the world of private equity.