Homegrown private equity firm Gaja Capital, which is investing out of its fourth fund that it raised a year and a half ago, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
The firm, which counts logistics startup Xpressbees, lender RBL bank, financial services firm Avendus, edtech firm EuroKids and beverage maker John Distilleries in its portfolio, is looking to raise fresh capital through the IPO of Gaja Alternative Asset Management Ltd, according to a public announcement.
It has appointed JM Financial as the banker for the IPO, according to an update on the National Stock Exchange.
The PE firm hasn’t disclosed details of the IPO but is reportedly looking to raise up to Rs 500-600 crore through the public issue.
The development comes a few months after the PE firm reportedly raised Rs 125 crore in an pre-IPO transaction from SBI Life, HDFC Life, Enam and stock market investor Jagdish Master at a valuation of Rs 1,625 crore.
The IPO, if and when approved, will make Gaja one of the first standalone PE firms to be listed on the bourses. Globally, KKR, Blackstone, Apollo Global and TPG are among the list of PE firms that are publicly traded.
Meanwhile, EAAA Alternatives, which is the alternative investment subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services, had filed its draft papers with SEBI for an initial public offering of Rs 1,500 crore in December last year. However, its plan hit a hurdle in April this year when SEBI returned its draft red herring prospectus.
Among other alternative fund managers, Nisus Finance, a Mumbai-based alternative investment management firm, went public in December 2024.
Gaja Capital mopped up a total of around $400 million after including the co-investment pool of LPs for its fourth fund, VCCircle reported in December 2023. It aims to make eight to 10 investments from this fund with the ticket size ranging from $25 million to $40 million. These would be focused towards technology and tech-enabled businesses, with significant focus towards categories such as SaaS, AI, software products and advanced analytics.
The mid-market PE firm raised its first fund in 2005. This was raised entirely from local investors. The PE firm's second fund scooped up $180 million and closed in 2009. Its third fund closed in 2016 with $240 million in capital commitments.
Gaja Capital has been most active in the education sector, having invested in CL Educate, Educational Initiatives, Eurokids International, Junior Sports and Services, SV EduSports and Educomp Solutions. It has also placed some significant bets on financial services firms including Navi Technologies, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, RBL Bank, investment banking firm Avendus Capital, and non-bank lender Kinara Capital.
