India Agri Business Fund II closes at $150m

Mumbai-based Rabo Equity Advisors, a Rabobank-sponsored private equity firm, has completed the final close of its India Agri Business Fund II at $150 million, Rajesh Srivstava, chairman at Rabo Equity, told Agri Investor. 

The fund will follow the same strategy as its predecessor, deploying growth capital across the Indian food and agriculture markets while generating an expected net IRR of at least 20 percent for its investors, Srivstava said in an emailed statement.  

Fund II will invest in 10 to 12 companies selected from over 40 sub-sectors in the agri and food value chain with an average investment of $15 million, he said, adding that it will acquire minority stakes (15 to 40 percent) and “could make a few exceptions for buyouts”. 

About 20 percent of the fund is already committed through two investments. It deployed $15 million in June to acquire a minority stake in Cremica Food Industries, a supplier of food service ingredients from biscuits to condiments; and later that month an additional $15 million allowed for the acquisition of a minority stake in agrochemical firm Parijat Industries.

Fund II originally targeted $200 million, though Srivstava was not available to comment further on the apparent resize in time for publication. It held its $90 million first close in December 2014. In addition to Rabobank as its anchor and sponsor, its LPs include CDC Group, ADB, Generali, IFU and Proparco.  

The series has typically made investments between $3 million and $15 million. The first fund made its 750 million rupee ($12.5 million; €9 million) final investment into Beloorbayir Biotech in April 2014.