L Catterton’s India-centric consumer fund marks first close at $200 Mn

L Catterton’s India-focussed consumer fund has marked its first close at $200 million (about Rs 1,760 crore). 

The investment vehicle, L Catterton India Fund (Fund I or the Fund), was launched by L Catterton Asia and former Hindustan Unilever Ltd executive Sanjiv Mehta last year to invest in mid-market consumer businesses in India. 

According to an ET report, citing sources, the private equity fund has a target of raising $400 million, with an additional greenshoe option of $200 million.

The PE fund is said to have received commitments from World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and some clients of Kotak Private, the private banking and wealth management division of Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

The fund will look to invest in food and beverage businesses, consumer services brands in healthcare, and retail segments, among others. It is expected to invest in 7-9 companies, with average ticket size in the range of $25 million to $150 million. It has made one investment so far in D2C healthy snacking brand Farmley. 

While Mehta is currently the executive chairman of L Catterton of India, Anjana Sasidharan and Vikram Kumaraswamy are the co-heads of India arm operations. 

The commitment of L Catterton, a consumer-focused investment firm with assets under management (AUM) of $37 billion, in the fund will be capped at 19.9%. The investment firm claims to have made over 275 investments since its inception in 1989, and counts the likes of PVR, Drools, Sugar Cosmetics, FabIndia and Jio Platforms in its India portfolio.

Last month, early and growth stage-focussed VC firm Atomic Capital announced the final close of its maiden fund at 400 crore. It aims to back startups operating in the consumer tech and consumer-enabler segments.