Spice Group sees opportunity in special situations investments

Headline: Spice sees opportunity in special situations investments

After entertainment it’s now private equity foray for Spice Group promoter Dr B K Modi. The group’s finance arm Spice Finance is all set to launch a special situations private equity fund called Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund.

To this effect, Spice Finance has inked a joint venture with Singapore-based 3 Degrees Asset Management and will invest $21 million in the first tranche of this fund. The first closure is expected to be made after commitments from other third party investors reach $100 million.

According to Divya Modi, executive director of Spice Finance the company would invest Rs 500 crore in distressed assets and special situations as well as other niche businesses like remittances and over the counter exchanges. “Our strategic alliance with 3 Degrees is the first significant step in our goal to achieve a $1 billion valuation for Spice Finance within the next few years,” said Modi.

Eyeing investments in India and southeast Asia the fund will focus on management control targeting distressed assets, turnaround stories,recapitalisations and other opportunities that have become available due to turmoil in global financial markets.

Commenting on the occasion, Moe Ibrahim, founder of the distressed specialist 3 Degrees Asset Management asserted that Asia's distressed asset market is highly inefficient, very large and growing rapidly. “With over $2 trillion in opportunities and only a handful of sophisticated players, the Asian distressed asset market epitomizes the inefficiencies we seek to exploit as a firm.”

A diversified entity, the Spice Group has a long and rich 30-year history of being a technology pioneer, bringing several first-time products and services in IT, automation and Telecommunications to the Indian market. The Group’s diversified business interests are categorised under four verticals - Spice Televentures, Spice Enfotainment, Spice Investment and Finance Advisors and Spice Innovative Technologies.