Espirito Santo, Dabur's Burmans plan to launch PE fund

MUMBAI: Espirito Santo, a Portuguese-based investment bank and part of a bigger financial services group by the same name, plans to launch a private equity fund in partnership with the Burman family of Dabur to invest in mid and small-cap companies.

Jose Maria Ricciardi, the global president and CEO of the bank, told ET in an exclusive interview that the fund will have a corpus of 100-250 million euros and could be launched some time next year.

The fund may raise money from global investors, including some from Europe, and it proposes to take minority stakes in companies in consumer, technology and pharmaceutical sectors with each investment ranging from 10-20 million euros.

"We are coming to India as we know that it is becoming stronger and stronger among emerging market economies," Jose Maria Ricciardi said.

The Portuguese bank first entered India in 2009 when it bought a controlling stake in UK securities firm Execution Noble. In 2010, it entered into a joint venture with the Burman family to launch Espirito Santo Securities India with the Portuguese bank holding 75% and the Burman family the rest.