GEF Capital Partners Eyes $600 Million Fourth Fund

The fund could deploy as much as $1 billion after including investor co-investments

- Ranjani Raghavan & Dipti Sharma

EF Capital Partners, which invests across the US, Brazil, and India, is planning a $600 million fourth fund on the back of its blockbuster partial exit from solar modules maker Premier Energies, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The fourth fund could eventually deploy as much as $1 billion after including investor co-investments, the person cited above added, asking to remain anonymous. Co-investments allow investors in a fund to deploy capital alongside the main private equity fund to boost their exposure to an investment.

The PE fund made a partial exit from its investment in Premier Energies by selling a 5.5% stake through a block deal on Tuesday, which amounted to ₹2,625 crore. The initial investment of around ₹177 crore (then $23.5 million) in Premier Energies was led by GEF partner Abhishek Loonker and co-founder Raj Pai in September 2021. It is expected to yield the firm close to ₹8,000-8,500 crore in profits (over $1 billion), including the unsold 5.5% stake GEF retains in the company.