Amara Partners nears ₹800 cr debut fundraise
, the
private equity fund
launched by former
Mahindra & Mahindra
PE unit head
Parag Shah
, is set to raise its debut fund at ₹800 crore soon.
The fund, which has roped in industrialist
Anand Mahindra
as an anchor investor, has seen participation from about 20 industrialists and their families across India.
'There is a shortage of capital for small and
mid-sized companies
, many of which have the vision and the ability to take India's capabilities forward. Our Growth Fund aims to be a catalytic force in this transformation,' Parag Shah told ET.
The fund, which has already raised ₹650 crore from domestic pools, plans to raise about ₹150 crore from multinational executives and industry veterans, Shah said.
As part of the green shoe option, Amara is launching an exclusive platform called the Amara Leadership Circle - a curated investor pool comprising CEOs and senior leaders of large Indian and multinational companies.
The fund targets mid-sized companies in the manufacturing/industrials, financial services, consumer sector and healthcare. The fund has already made two investments - in auto components maker Lumax Auto Technologies and NBFC Fibe.
Amara will focus on sub-segments such as precision manufacturing, auto components, electronics & semi, speciality materials and chemicals, building materials, speciality packaging.
'We have received commitments from limited partners which include 20 odd corporate and institutional families, which believe in the
India manufacturing story
,' Shah said.
The fund will target 10-12 investments over its lifecycle with ticket sizes ranging from $10-15 million and will have the ability to invest upto $20mn with co-investments from its LPs.
On its advisory board, the fund has leaders such as Anand Mahindra, Haigreve Khaitan, M.M. Murugappan and Rafique Malik with Anand Mahindra being the anchor investor.
Parag was the Managing Partner of Mahindra Partners, the $1 billion Private Equity & Venture Capital division of the Mahindra Group, which was responsible for incubation, turnaround and investments in several sectors.
Amara Partners founding team consists of Piyush Soonee, a former director at Omidyar Network India & former investment professional at Mahindra Partners.
India remains a priority market for PE and VC fund-raising, with domestic and global investors accelerating capital commitments.
However, intensifying competition - marked by a 60-65% increase in funds active in India since 2016, and heightened LP expectations for performance, will require funds to demonstrate strong track records to secure commitments, said a recent report by Bain & Company.
Fund-raising is becoming increasingly competitive, with LPs prioritizing past performance as one of the key drivers for investment, it said.
Domestic funds continue to raise record capital for India, amidst a challenging environment for PE fundraising globally. Kedaara Capital raised its biggest fund (Fund IV) at $1.7 billion while ChrysCapital secured $2.1 billion for its latest fund in 2025, marking the biggest capital raise by an Indian fund. ChrysCapital also raised its Continuation Fund at $700 million.
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