Anil Sarin joins Bessemer India

I am delighted to welcome Anil Sarin, who joins as Director of Public Equities in Bessemer's Mumbai office. Here's his brief background (the full press release is here):

Anil most recently was the co-head of equities at Prudential ICICI Asset Management, India’s largest mutual fund company, where he was named a Platinum Fund Manager by The Economic Times. As Director of Public Equities for Bessemer, he will manage the firm’s listed investments and participate in due diligence activities. Anil brings to Bessemer more than a decade of public equity fund management experience. At Prudential ICICI, Anil’s four funds—the Power Fund, the Dynamic Fund, the Emerging Star Fund, and the Fusion Fund—routinely produced market-beating returns and won a number of industry awards. Among Anil’s successful investments were the Deccan Chronicle newspaper company, Subex Systems software, and Zenith Infotech, an IT services company. During Anil’s tenure, the money that he managed at Prudential ICICI grew from less than $30 million in 2004 to more than $800 million in 2006. Prior to joining Prudential ICICI, Anil was a fund manager for Birla Sun Life specializing in technology. Under his management, the Birla IT Fund won Best Technology Fund in 2001 and 2002, and the Birla Equity Fund was named Best ELSS Tax Saving Fund in 2003. Anil began his career as an equity research analyst and fund manager at SBI Funds Management. Anil holds an MBA degree from the Institute of Management and Technology in Ghaziabad, and a Bachelor’s in commerce from Delhi University. Before going to graduate school, he served in the Indian Army as an infantry officer, seeing active duty in Sri Lanka and training junior officers at the Infantry School in Mhow.

In India, the distinction between listed and unlisted companies (especially the smaller ones) is quite artificial. Most Indian companies/stocks are both relatively small and illiquid, leading to many companies that are 'listed but not really public'. Several such companies still require external capital to grow, making PIPEs a significant part of the Indian private equity market. While we've already made a few PIPE investments, Anil's public equity fund management experience will significantly strengthen Bessemer's ability to look at the universe of Indian listed companies.