YES Bank launches agri fund

YES Bank has launched a $100-million private equity fund called the Food and Agribusiness India Fund.

YES Bank senior director, Agribusiness Fund Management, Sonal Shah said that the objective of the fund is to invest in around 10-15 companies in the food and agribusiness sector.

"The objective of the fund is to identify the potential market leaders and obtain a minority position through the investment of expansion capital," Shah told reporters.

She said the bank plans to invest the entire amount in the next one or two years in about 10-15 companies with an investment between $5 million and $7.5

million per company.

YES Bank said it is planning to raise the funds through a mix of global and domestic investors. The Bank is targeting an annual return of about 20-25 per cent from the investment through the new fund.

The bank said it is also in the process of shortlisting the companies, which it plans to invest in.

"We would restrict investment to 10-15 per cent of the total commitment in a single company and look for diversification in the portfolio of the companies within the agri-business sector itself," Shah said.