London-based Pantheon Ventures ramps up investment in India

“India represents an important part of our Asia portfolio and continues to be a region we are excited about,” said Kunal Sood, managing director of Singapore-based Pantheon.

Pantheon is attracting global investments such as US-based Harbourvest Partners to India, attracted by its robust economy, manufacturing and services growth as well as its burgeoning startup ecosystem. It is joining the list of companies.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress on a number of fronts, including government reform, digitalization, production-linked incentive (PLI) support for manufacturing, and economic normalization,” Sood said.

“This situation is being driven by factors such as manufacturers and retailers adopting China-plus-one supply chain strategies around the world, significant increases in infrastructure investment, and strong GDP growth.”

A significant portion of Pantheon’s Asia portfolio is focused on India, but Sood declined to provide exact figures.

recurring theme

Recently, US-based private markets firm Harbourvest Partners also detailed plans to expand its funds and direct investments in India. Pantheon and HarbourVest backed Chris Capital’s $700 million continuation fund last month, along with a third investor, LGT Capital Partners.

Apart from private equity firms, Pantheon has also invested in several venture capital funds in India, Matrix Partners and Avatar Ventures.

In India, Pantheon is keen to invest in areas such as business and technology services, medical technology and big pharma, and digital implementation, a recurring theme across business-to-business and business-to-customer flows.

With increasing disposable income, Indians have become more ambitious and able to spend money on newer categories, Sood said. Moreover, India is also witnessing growing awareness of financial inclusion and strong participation of retail investors in the capital markets, he added.

A thriving startup ecosystem

Sood is responsible for evaluating, closing and monitoring primary and secondary investment and co-investment opportunities across the Asia Pacific region.

Investing in private markets for more than 40 years, Pantheon has expanded its presence over the years with offices in 12 regions including Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, New York and Hong Kong. The firm opened an office in Singapore last year as part of its plan to strengthen its investment activities in Asia.

The firm manages approximately $62 billion in discretionary assets in asset classes such as private equity, real assets including infrastructure and real estate, and private credit.

Sood said India complements Pantheon’s large Asian portfolio in several ways, including succession planning and business separation.

“India stands out for its pace of economic growth, strong macroeconomic factors and diverse consumer markets. Creating an Asian portfolio is a unique opportunity with so many underlying themes and each market has different strengths. So it’s always very interesting,” he said.

Unique to India, Pantheon focuses on the venture capital and private equity space given the country’s thriving startup ecosystem.

“While venture capital and growth equity continue to be an exciting part of the market, the number of private equity acquisitions is also increasing in India as the market is now deep and mature, allowing fund managers to grow and grow. It’s evolving,” Sood said.

“This is why business executives are increasingly comfortable handing over the reins to private equity buyers, often retaining some shares themselves to ride the upside. There are many things to do.”