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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Ayojana renamed Aureos Lanka Advisers : Global SME Private Equity Fund Manager launched Aureos Capital Ltd, a global Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) private equity fund manager acquired the remaining 50% stake in Ayojana Fund Management (Pvt) Ltd the leading private equity fund manager in Sri Lanka from the National Development Bank in October last year and now fully owns the company. Aureos already owned 50% of Ayojana, which it purchased from CDC Group plc in July 2001. Ayojana has changed its name to Aureos Lanka Advisers (Pvt) Ltd and is seeking new investments in selected Sri Lankan companies through the recently established Aureos South Asia Fund I (ASAF-I). ASAF-I focussing on Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is the precursor to the planned Aureos South Asia Fund II that would also include India. ASAF-II is expected to be launched in 2005. The investors in Aureos funds globally include CDC, Norfund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), European Investment Bank (EIB) and many other local and international financial institutions. With investment sizes ranging from $500,000 to $3/5million, Aureos plays a catalytic role in mobilising capital for private equity investments in emerging markets, where there is often a clear funding gap and dearth of equity capital in the SME sector. As a result, Aureos not only plays an important role in the development of local capital markets, but is instrumental in assisting companies and management teams achieve their growth and business objectives, in keeping with financial, social and environmental sustainability. Aureos is a long-term investor whose investment horizon ranges from 3-7 years. Aureos will look to playing a key role in strategic direction and overall corporate governance. Aureos Lanka Advisers (and its predecessor Ayojana Fund Management) has more than eight years of private equity fund management experience in Sri Lanka. The management teams comprise professionals with multidisciplinary skills and a collective private equity experience of over 20 years. Aureos has invested and managed a total of over US$10 m in Sri Lanka in a wide array of sectors and has managed over 40 investments to-date and have successfully exited from 25. In South Asia, Aureos Capital has raised its first fund, ASAF-I, focussing on investing in Sri Lanka with deal size ranging between US$0.5m and US$3m including on a limited scale in Bangladesh. Aureos Capital will evaluate and make investments in Sri Lankan businesses with proven track record and sound corporate governance. Going forward, Aureos will evaluate the setting up of a regional fund for South Asia (ASAF-II), which will seek to expand SME private equity investments in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Following its global model, these funds will be managed by a local team enhancing the fund's ability to source deals and adopt a "hands-on" approach to portfolio management. |
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