Aureos SA Fund closes investments in Lanka and India

Aureos Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm specialising in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets, said they have closed two investments worth US$ 5.3 million from its newest fund - Aureos South Asia Fund (ASAF) during July/August.

In Sri Lanka, a US$ 1.3 million investment was made in Dutch Lanka Trailer Manufacturers Ltd. (DLT). DLT is a manufacturer of various types of trailers for the local and export market. During the last three years, DLT's revenue and profits have grown by CAGR of 45% and 34%. Exports account for over 60% of DLT's revenue and over the last few years DLT has secured an impressive list of clients such as Dubai Ports, P&O, SAGT, Tata Motors, AP Moller Terminals (Maersk), SLPA and Hutchison Ports from Middle East and South Asian countries.

Aureos' investment in DLT was part of a US$ 2 million private placement. DLT will utilise the investment to fund its joint venture with Tata International and to expand capacity in its local factory at Kelaniya. DLT is planning for a listing in the Colombo Stock Exchange in two years.

DLT's Managing Director Dilip Kodikara said that they are very happy to partner with an investor such as Aureos and said that he hopes to tap new international markets for DLT through Aureos' presence in emerging markets where the demand for trailers is growing fast. DLT's current capacity of 800 trailers per annum will be increased to 3,000 units after local and Indian expansions.

In India, ASAF made a US$ 4 million investment in Accutest Research Laboratories (Pvt) Ltd (Accutest). Accutest is a Mumbai based contract research organisation, currently focusing on Bioavailability (BA) and Bioequivalent (BE) studies. BA and BE studies are normally availed of by pharmaceutical companies at the time of launching a drug which has already gone off-patent.

Accutest currently has facilities in three locations in West India - Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. The Mumbai facility will service studies for US FDA and Japan, the Pune facility will service Indian clients and the Ahmedabad facility is expected to cater to UK, European and other markets. Accutest has 62 employees, 50 of which are scientists - doctors, Ph.D.s or MSc's.

Commenting on the two new investments, Aureos Capital's Managing Partner for the South Asia Region, Nissanka Weerasekera, said that they are very happy that they closed two investments within six months of closing ASAF. He said that they are evaluating several other investments in the region and the investment deal flow is very encouraging.