L Catterton to step up India focus over 2 yrs
MUMBAI : Consumer-focused private equity fund L Catterton, backed by French Luxury brand LVMH, is looking to accelerate investments in India over the next 12-24 months, a top company official said. The PE firm, which raised a $1.4 billion Asia fund in 2019 to deploy in China, Japan and India, is scouting for opportunities across consumer sub-segments, Anjana Sasidharan, partner and head of India at L Catterton said in an interview. Founded in 1989, L Catterton manages around $33 billion of equity capital across private equity, credit and real estate.
So far in India, it has invested in companies such as Reliance Jio Infocomm ($250 million along with co-investors) Sugar Cosmetics ($50 million along with co-investors) and Drools Pet Food ($60 million). A lot is going in India’s favour for global investors to be excited about, Sasidharan said. “It’s the fastest-growing large economy and has the opportunity to become the third-largest economy, say, by 2030, even by conservative estimates.
However, I think, what’s exciting for us is that 60% of GDP (gross domestic product) is driven by consumption. And, therefore, we are sitting in an ecosystem where what the consumer does today has a disproportionate impact on growth. Because, as per capita income grows, discretionary income grows, and the impact on consumption will be more than what the GDP growth truly reflects," she said.
According to Sasidharan, the growth of organized sectors is 1.5-4 times of the unorganized segments. “That presents a very interesting opportunity for firms like us for looking very closely at the consumer space." New themes within the consumer segment have emerged, she said. “Segments like beauty, personal care, food and beverages, travel, skilling and
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