New Delhi: Ravi Kapoor, a former senior executive at Citi, is setting up a ₹1,000 crore aerospace and defence fund to capitalise on the growing Indian market for military hardware.
Speaking to ET, Kapoor said the fund named Indusbridge Ventures is part of a broader endeavour to build a new financial company. A Citi veteran, Kapoor retired as the managing director and head of banking, capital markets and advisory for India and South Asia in September 2023.
Former Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and former defence secretary Gargi Kaul have joined the fund as advisers, said Kapoor. The fund has already raised ₹125 crore from investors, he said, adding that it is on course to garner further capital.
"On the one hand, you have growing interest from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to allocate funds to alternative assets like private equity and venture capital," said Kapoor, general partner, Indusbridge Ventures.
"Secondly, India's growing defence budget requires incubating new businesses here to support the Make-in-India initiative. And thirdly, we are aiming to create businesses that can serve the export market which could involve JVs with foreign partners that manufacture here," he said.
On the investment modes Indusbridge would pursue, Kapoor cited, a three-way JV that the fund had set up. This involves a US-based supplier of composites or lightweight materials to Lockheed Martin; an Indian helmet manufacturer that works with composite materials; and Indusbridge. The JV has exclusive rights to manufacture the material in India, which is as strong as aluminium but at half of the weight. "We are also pursuing minority investments that could be smaller in size" he said, without elaborating.
He said India's $80 billion defence budget-currently the world's fourth largest-is making the aerospace and defence sector attractive from an investment standpoint.
Kapoor's partner in the fund, Rahul Devjani was previously employed with a division of RTX Corporation, the world's most valuable defence company by market capitalisation.
Speaking to ET, Kapoor said the fund named Indusbridge Ventures is part of a broader endeavour to build a new financial company. A Citi veteran, Kapoor retired as the managing director and head of banking, capital markets and advisory for India and South Asia in September 2023.
Former Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and former defence secretary Gargi Kaul have joined the fund as advisers, said Kapoor. The fund has already raised ₹125 crore from investors, he said, adding that it is on course to garner further capital.
"On the one hand, you have growing interest from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to allocate funds to alternative assets like private equity and venture capital," said Kapoor, general partner, Indusbridge Ventures.
"Secondly, India's growing defence budget requires incubating new businesses here to support the Make-in-India initiative. And thirdly, we are aiming to create businesses that can serve the export market which could involve JVs with foreign partners that manufacture here," he said.
On the investment modes Indusbridge would pursue, Kapoor cited, a three-way JV that the fund had set up. This involves a US-based supplier of composites or lightweight materials to Lockheed Martin; an Indian helmet manufacturer that works with composite materials; and Indusbridge. The JV has exclusive rights to manufacture the material in India, which is as strong as aluminium but at half of the weight. "We are also pursuing minority investments that could be smaller in size" he said, without elaborating.
He said India's $80 billion defence budget-currently the world's fourth largest-is making the aerospace and defence sector attractive from an investment standpoint.
Kapoor's partner in the fund, Rahul Devjani was previously employed with a division of RTX Corporation, the world's most valuable defence company by market capitalisation.
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