Mumbai-based SICOM, with backing from J.C. Flowers & Co., is looking into new investment options.
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Mumbai-based non-banking finance company State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra (SICOM), which counts American private investment firm J.C. Flowers & Co. as a shareholder, is looking to get into alternative investment funds management in real estate and distressed assets.
SICOM’s two funds would mobilize over Rs 1,000 crore as initial capital, and the pool would be used to cut collateralized credit deals at rates as high as 14–18 percent, officials said. At the current exchange rate, this translates to ~$15.75 million worth of total investments.
J.C. Flowers & Co., founded by J. Christopher Flowers, backs SICOM in these efforts. J.C. Flowers & Co. picked up a roughly 36 percent stake in the firm in 2008 for $100 million.
“We intend to pool in the funds from private equity funds and other financial services institutions,” said Ashish Kumar Sinha, managing director of SICOM. “The special situations fund would invest in well-managed companies that are undergoing temporary financial stress. We’ll also lend to companies that does not have enough growth capital. The real estate fund would invest in projects…we’ll make good spreads on these investments.”
SICOM is hoping to acquire its alternative investment fund license from the Securities and Exchange Board of India in three to four months.
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About SICOM
Founded in 1966, SICOM is a joint venture between Maharashtra government and U.S.-based financial services-focused private equity fund J.C. Flowers & Co. SICOM dedicates itself to providing entrepreneurs with a range of fund-based and non fund-based products and services. SICOM has five offices in Delhi, Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nashik.
To learn more about SICOM, visit the company’s website.
