Sanjiv Mehta-led L Catterton India eyes proprietary deals as consumer market expands

Mumbai: Global private equity firm L Catterton’s India pool of capital, led by former Hindustan Unilever (HUL) chief Sanjiv Mehta, is eyeing more proprietary deals in the country after deploying over $100 million across companies like Farmley, Haldiram’s and Healing Hands Clinic over the last year.“Our deals are primarily proprietary in nature, and we don’t take part in intense bidding processes. This preferential access allows us to have better returns for our investors through better pricing discipline.

The three deals we have completed so far have, on average, been 20–40% lower in terms of entry price versus market benchmarks, which again is an important driver of superior returns. On top of this, we help our entrepreneurs by leveraging our operating experience,” its partner Vikram Kumaraswamy said in a media roundtable on Tuesday.Proprietary deals typically refer to transactions in which a buyer approaches a seller directly or through an intermediary before the business is marketed to others or placed in a competitive bidding process or auction.The comments come after the firm raised nearly half of the $400 million target for its first India-focused consumer fund, which also has a green-shoe option of another $200 million.

The firm expects to complete raising capital over the next 12-18 months and will target 7-9 investments with an average cheque size of about $50 million, said Kumaraswamy, adding that they also have the flexibility to do larger deals through co-investments.Backed by French luxury brand LVMH, L Catterton’s Asia (LCA) platform announced its joint venture with Mehta in 2024 to double down on its India presence. The fund has already attracted capital from global and domestic players.