Jayanta Banerjee to quit ICICI Venture

Jayanta Banerjee and two other senior professionals on the Mumbai-based firm’s private equity team have resigned to set up their own private equity shop.

Three senior professionals on ICICI Venture’s private equity team have resigned from the firm to set up their own private equity venture.
Jayanta Banerjee, who is one of the presidents on the firm’s private equity team and the one driving its fundraising for India Advantage Fund Series 3, and directors Anand Vyas and Sunay Mathure resigned from ICICI Venture on Monday.
India Advantage Fund Series 3 is targeting commitments of $500 million and has an $800 million hard cap. The firm raised $350 million for the first close of the fund in December 2009.
The trio is currently transitioning from their roles at ICICI Venture and Banerjee told PEI Asia he expects the transition to take no longer than a month. He said the new firm will be focused on the lower end of the mid-market and that its activities will not come into conflict with those of ICICI Venture, which is focused on the upper end of the mid-market. 
The new private equity firm will broadly be focused on making investments in emerging companies in high-growth sectors. The firm will raise a small fund focused on investments in unlisted companies at the lower end of the mid-market, ideally looking at mergers and acquisitions for exits, Banerjee said. It will take large positions in the form of either significant minority stakes or controlling investments in a small number of companies, he added. 
Banerjee joined ICICI Venture in 2002 and has worked on investments across various sectors including textiles, construction, manufacturing, aviation, infrastructure and logistics. He was instrumental in raising ICICI Venture’s $810 million India Advantage Fund Series 2, according to ICICI Venture’s website, and is currently driving fundraising for India Advantage Fund Series 3. 
In mid-2007, Banerjee had quit ICICI Venture to head Lehman Brothers’ private equity practice in India. He re-joined ICICI Venture after six months. Banerjee has also worked with Bank of America, ICICI Securities and Ernst & Young in the past. 
Vyas joined ICICI Venture in 2000 and is focused on investments in sectors such as brands, retail, education and media and entertainment. Prior to joining the Indian private equity firm, Vyas worked with ANZ Grindlays Bank in India for two years as an interest rate trader. 
Mathure, who joined ICICI Venture in 1999, is responsible for buyout investments across sectors and growth transactions in select industrial sectors. Before joining ICICI Venture, he worked with the National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology, CRISIL and Bennett Coleman & Company. 
In April 2009, Renuka Ramnath, who was then the managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Venture, resigned from the firm to set up her own private equity firm as well. Ramnath established Multiples Alternate Asset Management in June 2009 and the firm has since raised $250 million for the first close of its maiden private equity fund which is targeting commitments of $400 million and has a $450 million hard cap.
Ramnath was replaced by Vishakha Mulye, formerly the executive director of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company.Â