ChrysCapital, a prominent Indian private equity firm, has achieved a new milestone by raising $2.2 billion for its latest fund, ChrysCapital X. This marks the largest private equity fund ever raised by a domestic PE firm in India, highlighting the increasing confidence of investors in the Indian market. The fundraise surpasses ChrysCapital's previous $1.35 billion Fund IX in 2022 by over 60%.
The impressive fundraise occurred even amidst a global downturn in private equity fundraising, demonstrating India's strong position in the global landscape. According to Kunal Shroff, Managing Partner at ChrysCapital, India is currently better positioned than most economies worldwide, driven by a large domestic market and significant under-penetration across various categories, fostering additional growth. Saurabh Chatterjee, MD at ChrysCapital, stated that India is on the cusp of a multi-decade growth run, supported by the government's establishment of physical and digital infrastructure.
ChrysCapital X attracted strong participation from a diverse mix of global and domestic investors. For the first time in its 26 years of operation, ChrysCapital has raised capital from Indian institutional investors and large family offices. Investors from Japan, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States also backed the fund, alongside local insurance companies and financial institutions. The inclusion of Indian investors signals a widening pool of domestic capital and their growing appetite for private equity investments. Over 30 new global and local firms have been added to ChrysCapital's investor base with this fund.
The firm will primarily focus on investments in sectors such as consumer, healthcare, technology, financial services, and manufacturing. ChrysCapital intends to stick to its strategy of investing in companies that have significant scale, hold leading market share in their respective segments, and are profitable or close to profitability. The firm will make 15-16 investments through the fund, which is higher than its usual 11-13 investments trajectory given the fund size, with cheque sizes ranging from $75 million to $200 million. At least half of the fund will be allocated towards buyout opportunities. ChrysCapital has already closed one investment from the new fund and is in the process of finalizing a couple more. The firm expects to deploy the full fund in 3-4 years.
ChrysCapital, since its inception in 1999, has cumulatively raised approximately $8.5 billion across 10 private equity funds, a continuation vehicle, and its public markets fund. Through its private equity funds, the firm has deployed over $5.5 billion in more than 110 portfolio companies. ChrysCapital's portfolio includes investments in companies like Lenskart, Hero Fincorp, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Theobroma, and Xoriant.
