San Francisco-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), which announced the launch of a $4.6 billion capital last week, has India in its key focus for its inaugural growth buyout fund. The new capital across two funds—$3.85 billion for its twelfth flagship fund, BVP XII, and $780 million for its fresh BVP Forge Fund, allows the firm to back entrepreneurs and management teams across all stages of growth, regardless of maturity or structure.
The private equity company's move exploring the fast emerging opportunity where successful startups and established companies increasingly go for growth buyouts in their next stage of growth, however, sets a new trend in India, say industry watchers.
BVP, which currently focuses on early- and growth-stage venture capital investments through its current $2.475 billion BVP XI Fund, $825 million Century II Growth Fund, and $220 million early-stage focused India Fund is, however, expanding its flexibility to support growth buyouts with different liquidity, capital structure and operational support requirements with its BVP Forge and its dedicated Forge Funds now.
According to sources close to the company, BVP's new $780 million Forge Fund is specifically designed for growth buyout and significant minority transactions in software and tech-enabled services businesses.
"Through these new funds, BVP will invest in and support management teams with a dedicated platform," they said.
Launching the new funds, BVP's chief strategy officer Scott Ring had said that it has established a platform for investing across the global technology landscape, from early-stage to growth buyouts, and have created a structure where our venture capital and growth-focused private equity platforms remain focused on their fundamental investment stages.
“We pride ourselves on partnering with entrepreneurs to help them scale from their earliest days through IPO and beyond. BVP Forge allows us to widen our ability to support management teams seeking liquidity and wanting a hands-on partner to navigate through their next stage of growth,” said Bessemer Partner Brian Feinstein, who championed the firm’s expansion into growth buyouts, in a Friday statement.
BVP, as a private equity funding company, helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to build and forge long-standing companies. With more than 135 IPOs and 200 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, BVP currently supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth.
