Promoter, industry and their pedigree are key things we look at while evaluating any company

Global investors love India. They are putting their money here because they believe in the kind of consumption that is here and the kind of growth it is consistently showing.

- RITWIK MUKHERJEE

Getting money from overseas is not a challenge at all. Hopefully the foreign investors will even start investing in MSMEs.

So feels Samir Agarwal, Director, Indcap Advisors, a Category 1 Merchant Banker, with offices in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad.

Speaking to The Statesman, Agarwal delves at length into wide-ranging issues – from right timing of IPO, preparations for IPO, responsibilities post funds raising, family businesses turning professional-run ones, and so on and so forth.

Excerpts:

Q: You know it's often popularly (in a lighter vein) said, 'it's all about money honey' and particularly when a company wants to grow, it needs money. And there are more ways than one to raise funds and it is the merchant bankers who help those companies to find the right pathway to raise funds. Let me start by asking you, when a particular client comes to you, how do you take a call on which way to be taken because normally we know one has to take a very judicious mix of debt and equity and all that. So as a merchant banker how do you suggest, how do you guide them?

A: See the good thing is that when I started my career it was almost about 20 years ago and I started as an investment banker and then graduated to a merchant banker as well. So we have seen all sides of the ecosystem where companies as small as 10 to 20 crore turnover to companies as high as 10 to 15,000 crore turnover, we have seen, evaluated and seen their journey. So when we meet a particular company, the foremost and important thing for us is to see the pedigree of the promoter. The industry in which they operate, because that market size is very important. And the third and most important thing is how do we help them to come out of their shell and help them think big so that they can achieve their aspiration. So promoter, industry and their pedigree, these are key things which we look at while evaluating any company.