3i picks up stake in Hyderabad firm for $101m

3i India Infrastructure Fund, part of the London-based private equity and venture capital company 3i Group Plc, has invested $101 million (Rs 398 crore) in Hyderabad-based infrastructure company Soma Enterprise.

Though the companies have not disclosed the exact stake the fund picked up, Avinash Bhosale, joint managing director, Soma Enterprise said, “3i has got minority stake; the stake figure is in mid-teens (between 13% and 17%).”

This figure values the company at over Rs 3,400 crore.

Soma will use the money for expansion. “We will invest the money to further build capacities to undertake bigger projects. This includes buying infrastructure machineries,” Bhosale.

Hyderabad-based Rajendra Prasad Maganti and his family owns majority stake in the infrastructure firm. Pune-based flamboyant real estate developer and hotelier Avinash Bhosale is the other promoter.

Soma, with revenues of Rs 1,100 crore, has an order book of Rs 6,400 crore. The company is also planning a public issue next year. “Though we have not yet started the process, we hope to come with an initial public offering by next year,” Bhosale said.

The company has divided its business in six verticals. Theses include real estate, urban infrastructure, irrigation, transportation, tunnel and hydro power. Along with IL&FS, Soma is bidding for phase II of the Mumbai metro rail project.

3i India Infrastructure fund targets to invest about $1bn in the country. Soma Enterprise is its second investment in the country. In October this year, it had invested $227 million for a minority stake in Adani Power, a subsidiary of Adani Group.