Reliance Money CEO may join US-based PE firm

[sukishan]

NEW DELHI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) firm Reliance Money CEO Sudip Bandyopadhyay is slated to join a US-based private equity (PE) firm, 
which is planning an India outfit next year, in a senior capacity. He is set to tender his resignation in Reliance Money soon.

Although a Reliance spokesman denied that Mr Bandyopadhyay was moving out of the company, a person familiar with the matter said the firm he is likely to join is Advent International. Mr Bandyopadhyay, however, was unavailable for comment.

Advent is set to foray into India in 2010 and has already roped in prominent executives for advice on investment opportunities in the country, including the high profile former Axis Bank CEO PJ Nayak, who has been hired as an advisor. He will be part of Advent's Operating Partner Programme, which has business leaders from a diverse background working as advisors, alongside Advent's country teams. The PE fund has also hired former director of ICICI Venture Shweta Jalan as a consultant. Advent's managing director Georg Stratenwerth will be developing Advent's India operations.

There was speculation about Mr Bandyopadhyay leaving Reliance Money for quite some time and an executive in the brokerage industry said the stage for his exit was set about three months ago.

Headquartered in the US, Advent is one of the world's leading buyout firms, with offices across 15 countries. It focuses primarily on international buyouts and strategic repositioning opportunities and has dedicated funds for emerging PE markets such as central and eastern Europe and Latin America. Since its inception in 1984, it has raised $24 billion in PE capital and, through its buyout programmes has completed over 250 transactions valued around $45 billion in 35 countries.

As per senior executives in PE industry, a lot of foreign firms are now looking at stepping up their activity in India as it is considered an emerging market, which is still witnessing growth at a time when the world economy is undergoing a downturn. "There is immense potential to be tapped in India and foreign players are looking at cashing in on it," said a senior executive of a Mumbai-based PE firm, who did not wish to be identified due to confidentiality issues.

Foreign PE firms which opened their offices in India last year include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Bain Capital. Some of the large foreign buyout firms which are already active in India for the last 3-4 years are Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Apax Partners, among others.

Advent is not new to India. It has already looked at investment opportunities in India, including Wockhardt Hospital. In 2007, Advent invested in Computer Age Management Services, a transaction processing company that offers investor record-keeping services to mutual funds and process outsourcing services to insurance companies.