Norwest scouts for more investment targets
Venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partner(NVP) has broadened its target sectors for scouting investment opportunities in India.
By Vivek Sinha, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partner(NVP) has broadened its target sectors for scouting investment opportunities in India. Besides its global investment focus on IT and consumer backed internet firms, it is also looking to build a presence in banking and financial services business. The California-based VC firm has investments in firms such as Yatra, Persistent Systems, Sulekha, Adventity and Mobile2 win.
The VC firm, which has assets under management of $2.5 billion, is currently investing out of its $650 million global fund. It had last year appointed Niren Shah as the country head for Indian operations. Earlier NVP was investing in India without having a direct presence in the country.
One of its more mature investments in India include Persistent Systems which is looking to go public. The firm, which is into outsourced software product development, had filed its red herring prospectus in October���07 which was cleared by Sebi in December.
Speaking to ET, Mr Shah, said, ���NVP has had a good run with its investments in India and its time to expand. Besides the traditional sectors under focus we are also looking at banking and financial services in India. At a global level NVP has invested in those areas in the past but has not been in focus over the last few years.���
NVP is also building up its team in the country. The plan is to have a team size of 10-12 people including associates over the next 18 months. The investment size would start from an entry level of around $1 million and can go upto $30-40 million.
At a global level NVP stretches this investment bracket to upto $50 million. NVP would typically look to pick a significant minority interest in its target companies. ���We would definitely like to close a few deals this year, even though there is no country allocation or target to chase number of deals,��� said Mr Shah.
The VC firm which counts amongst its managing partners ace venture capitalist Promod Haque has funded over 400 companies since its inception in 1961.
The VC firm, which has assets under management of $2.5 billion, is currently investing out of its $650 million global fund. It had last year appointed Niren Shah as the country head for Indian operations. Earlier NVP was investing in India without having a direct presence in the country.
One of its more mature investments in India include Persistent Systems which is looking to go public. The firm, which is into outsourced software product development, had filed its red herring prospectus in October���07 which was cleared by Sebi in December.
Speaking to ET, Mr Shah, said, ���NVP has had a good run with its investments in India and its time to expand. Besides the traditional sectors under focus we are also looking at banking and financial services in India. At a global level NVP has invested in those areas in the past but has not been in focus over the last few years.���
NVP is also building up its team in the country. The plan is to have a team size of 10-12 people including associates over the next 18 months. The investment size would start from an entry level of around $1 million and can go upto $30-40 million.
At a global level NVP stretches this investment bracket to upto $50 million. NVP would typically look to pick a significant minority interest in its target companies. ���We would definitely like to close a few deals this year, even though there is no country allocation or target to chase number of deals,��� said Mr Shah.
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The VC firm which counts amongst its managing partners ace venture capitalist Promod Haque has funded over 400 companies since its inception in 1961.
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