Oak Investment plans $200m retail fund

NEW DELHI: The US-based venture fund Oak Investment Partners is entering India with a $200-million corpus for the retail sector. It is perhaps the first time that any foreign venture capitalist has shown interest to set up a dedicated fund exclusively for retail start-ups in India. Ex-Tanishq COO Jacob Kurien and the CEO of a prominent food chain are likely to join the VC fund as its top team in India which is likely to start Indian operations early next year.

Oak Investment Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm with a total of $5.8 billion in committed capital. Investments are primarily focused on growth opportunities in enterprise application and infrastructure software, communication equipment and services, outsourced services, healthcare services and retail.

Sources said that Oak general partner Jerry Gallagher, who was in India recently, visited the malls of all the major metros. He also held a series of meetings with mall developers and retailers and apparently went back convinced about the retail boom in India.

Oak is looking at investing primarily in start-ups which are dime a dozen. The retail bug has bitten most execs and many of them are leaving their jobs to start something of their own. Sources said that a high-profile ex CEO is planning to partner with Oak in his retail venture.

Jerry has sponsored 33 Oak bricks and mortar and e-commerce investments, including Baja Fresh, Caribou Coffee, Dick’s Sporting Goods, eStyle, Filene’s Basement, Jamba Juice, Office Depot, PETsMART, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Potbelly Sandwich Works, 2nd Swing, Ulta Cosmetics & Salon and Whole Foods Market.