Reliance Equity Advisors has invested Rs.120 Crore in Bangalore based Shankara Pipes India Ltd. The Bangalore business was incorporated more than ten years ago and is involved in the distribution of a variety of steel tubes and pipes, reported the Times of India. Shankara Pipes India is promoted by Sukumar Srinivas and has over 600 retail-cum-distribution centers across the southern states of India.
Reliance Equity Advisors manages the Reliance Alternative Investments Fund – Private Equity Scheme 1 with plans to raise Rs.2000 crore of which Rs.1000cr was raised by January 2010. The Fund hopes to invest Rs.125 crore to Rs350 crore in each opportunity, building a portfolio of 12-15 companies.
The latest investment comes as the company’s second from the fund. In 2010, Reliance Equity Advisors invested $22 million in Sarla Holdings Private Limited, owner of ‘Pathway World School’ brand, a chain of international schools in India accredited to Cambridge International Examinations UK, and International Baccalaureate, Geneva (IB).
Pathways will use this money to expand its present capacity and set up two more schools in the national capital region (NCR).
Reliance Equity Advisors is also mulling two other investments this year in the equipment manufacturing and media & entertainment sector. Other corporate houses like the Tata and Aditya Birla group, are also active in fund-raising as well as investment, reported Deal Curry separately.
According to Deal Curry, Tata Capital is also raising funds for its various funds which include – Tata Opportunities Fund, Healthcare Fund, Innovation Fund and Growth Fund. Shankara Pipes is a leading retailer of steel pipes and tubes with annualized revenue of about Rs 1,000 crore.
Times of India reported that Shankara’s net profit margins are estimated at 5 –6 %. Most of its retail outlets are in the hinterland markets and bulk of the trading revenue comes from tier-II and tier-III centres. Reliance Equity had raised $300 million from the domestic market and is in the process of raising a similar tranche from overseas investors, said the report.
Reliance Capital, a constituent of S&P CNX Nifty and MSCI India, is a part of the Reliance Group. It is one of India’s leading and most valuable financial services companies in the private sector.
Reliance Capital has interests in asset management and mutual fund; life and general insurance; commercial finance; stock broking; depository services; private equity and proprietary investments; exchanges, asset reconstruction; distribution of financial products and other activities in financial services.