Bain Capital eyes late-stage tech deals, other new sectors for India investments

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital, which has over $160 billion of assets under management, may spend more time looking at late-stage tech deals next year in India, as the opportunities in the segment widen for traditional private equity firms, a top executive said. The PE firm closed a $7.1 billion fifth Asian fund last week, up from $4.5 billion which it raised for its fourth Asia fund. It expects to widen the scope of its investments in India over the next few years, including in newer sectors.

A lot of startups have historically been backed by venture capital firms in India and globally. But private equity firms may find opportunities in this segment in India, going forward, Pavninder Singh, a partner said. “Many of them (technology startups) are now further along in their business model evolution.

Some of them do have a need for primary capital. Many of them have a need for a capital structure realignment, where early investors need exits. I think all of that has created some interesting opportunities.

We are spending time selectively in that (startup/tech) area. A lot of those deals were going to a set of investors that didn’t look like traditional PE, a year or two ago—I think some of those deals could be relevant for us and our peer set in 2024," Singh said. Specifically, Bain Capital would be greatly interested in tech and tech enabled segments, product and software services companies, in addition to fintech companies, Singh said.