<article>Kerala-based conglomerate Samana Global Business Solutions Ltd has launched its maiden Category II Alternative Investment Fund with a target corpus of Rs 4,000 crore ($560 million).</article>

Kerala-based conglomerate Samana Global Business Solutions Ltd has launched its maiden Category II Alternative Investment Fund with a target corpus of Rs 4,000 crore ($560 million).
While Samana Global is the sponsor of Samana Global Fund (SGF 2020), IBMC investment Managers &amp; Advisors LLP is the investment manager and Vistra ITCL (India) Ltd, the Trustee of the Fund.
SGF 2020, which recently received the approval of the Indian regulator SEBI, will focus on investments in seven sectors &#8212; hospitality, healthcare, live farm, education, real estate, retail, and information technology, Sajith Kumar PK, CEO &amp; MD, IBMC Global Network, told DEALSTREETASIA.
Founded in 2000 by OMA Rasheed, Samana Global operates through 22 companies and already has a presence in the seven targeted sectors.
&#8220;We will start raising the funds from January next year. We also plan to start deploying simultaneously with our fundraising,&#8221; Kumar said, adding that the firm was planning to hit the first close in January itself, after which it would have 18 months to close the fund.
He added that the company had already secured soft commitments from global investors for the fund.
The vehicle would have an initial term of seven years from the initial closing date, subject to an extension of up to two years.
The potential investments will be screened by an investment management committee that will be responsible for judging the appropriate mechanism, timing, valuation, and the exit from each investment.
The stage-agnostic fund is also open to investing in public listed companies. However, the percentage of such deals is likely to be smaller, said Kumar. SGF 2020 will target long-term capital appreciation, and a minimum IRR of 14 per cent per annum, he added.
The fund also plans to set up a feeder fund in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to attract international investors.
In 2016, Indian public markets regulator SEBI entered into a pact with its counterpart in Abu Dhabi to promote the exchange of information for technical assistance and facilitate cross-border investments between the jurisdictions. The pact provides a framework for regulatory cooperation between the two authorities for enforcement and ensuring compliance with their respective laws and regulations.
Last year, Next Orbit Ventures (NOVF) ESDM, an Abu Dhabi-based fund established under the ADGM jurisdiction, announced the launch of a $2-billion fund for building semiconductors and an electronics fab ecosystem in India. It was said to be the first time that an India-based fund to be raised from GCC-based investors would be regulated by an external regulator.

SGF 2020, which recently received the approval of the Indian regulator SEBI, will focus on investments in seven sectors -- hospitality, healthcare, live farm, education, real estate, retail, and IT.

India's Samana Global launches $560m AIF, plans feeder fund in Abu Dhabi

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India's Samana Global launches $560m AIF, plans feeder fund in Abu Dhabi

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