logo
Investcorp Announces Sale of Citykart to TPG NewQuest and A91

Investcorp Announces Sale of Citykart to TPG NewQuest and A91

Al Bawaba27-05-2025

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced the sale of its entire stake in Citykart, one of India's fastest-growing value retailers focused on Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, to TPG NewQuest and A91 Partners. It represents the fifth full exit from the firm's India Consumer Growth Portfolio (ICGP) and the sixth liquidity event for the India franchise in the past 32 months.The operating scale-up has seen the store network expand dramatically from 37 to 137 stores. This leads to an estimated revenue of INR 8.8 billion (about US $102 million) for FY 2025. This growth is mirrored by a matching growth in EBITDA, with sustained industry leading margins. It has consistently delivered profitability while building core functions, strengthening governance, and attracting strong talent across leadership and mid-management levels.Furthermore, Investcorp has been instrumental in fostering a strategic partnership with founder Sudhanshu Agarwal, focusing on building a professional second line, integrating the W-Mart acquisition, revitalising under-performing stores, and optimising sourcing and inventory processes.Gaurav Sharma, Partner & Head of India Investments at Investcorp, said: 'Citykart was the very first deal we executed after formally entering India in 2019, and it epitomizes our strategy of backing category-defining, founder-led businesses in high-growth segments. Today's outcome underscores our ability to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns while supporting India's consumption story.'Yusef al Yusef, Global Head of Distribution atInvestcorp, commented: "Partnering with the Citykart team to triple the store base, steer the business through the pandemic and still outperform our underwriting is immensely satisfying. We thank all stakeholders and are confident that TPG NewQuest and A91 will help Citykart accelerate its next growth phase.'Other recent realizations besides Citykart include the sale of its stake in luggage maker Safari Industries, a profitable exit from eyecare specialist ASG Eye Hospital, a planned IPO-led exit from health-benefits administrator Medi Assist Healthcare, and a partial exit from dialysis network NephroPlus.
Investcorp's India private equity strategy targets asset-light opportunities across consumer & retail, healthcare, financial services, B2B and technology. Its active Indian holdings include Global Dental, Wakefit, Canpac, Xpressbees, Zolo, Freshtohome, Intergrow Brands, Unilog, V-Ensure, and the buy-out of NSE IT, rechristened NuSummit among others, demonstrating Investcorp's commitment to scaling high-growth businesses while realising timely liquidity for investors.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Markaz Exited over USD100 million of Industrial Real Estate Projects in the US and Europe over the past few months
Markaz Exited over USD100 million of Industrial Real Estate Projects in the US and Europe over the past few months

Al Bawaba

timea day ago

  • Al Bawaba

Markaz Exited over USD100 million of Industrial Real Estate Projects in the US and Europe over the past few months

Kuwait Financial Centre "Markaz" has announced the recent exit of several industrial real estate projects in the United States and Europe over the past few months. Executed by its International Real Estate team, in partnership with global players like Panattoni and Scannell Properties, the transactions marked successful exits across key global markets, reinforcing Markaz's position as a trusted investment partner and a prominent leader in the international real estate sector. Collectively, these projects represent over USD 100 million in asset value and reflect Markaz's extensive experience in structuring real estate investments across both development and credit strategies. The exited projects include industrial developments in Europe and the US, and a mezzanine financing investment for an Industrial Portfolio with Scannell Properties in the US. Each investment was selected and executed following rigorous research and market analysis, guided by macroeconomic trends and local market dynamics, with a strong emphasis on safeguarding client interests and delivering stable, long-term returns. Despite significant economic headwinds and global real estate market repricing, the returns on investment reflect Markaz's deep research capabilities, disciplined investment strategy, and ability to navigate volatility while protecting and growing investor capital. The exited projects highlight Markaz's active role in both real estate development and structured credit on this achievement, Sami Shabshab, Managing Director, International Real Estate at Markaz, said: 'These strategic exits highlight our disciplined investment approach, centered on resilience and long-term fundamentals throughout market cycles. Our recent focus on the industrial sector, driven by sustained demand for logistics and warehousing, has delivered stability and growth despite global uncertainties. We carefully timed these exits to align with market conditions, preserving and enhancing investor value in a complex environment. Our execution capabilities are supported by strong collaborations with international well-established partners, which are essential for effective risk management and project delivery. This combination of sector focus, market insight, and operational collaboration underscores Markaz's commitment to delivering sustainable and resilient returns for our clients.' Abdullatif Al-Nusif, Managing Director, Wealth Management and Business Development at Markaz, added: "At Markaz, our clients' interests remain at the forefront of every decision we make. The recent exits underscore the strength of our international real estate team in executing complex strategies and identifying strategic opportunities. Building on a 50-year legacy of market insight and disciplined investment strategies, we continue to focus on constructing resilient portfolios that are designed to withstand evolving conditions and deliver sustainable performance. Through selective exposure to high-conviction sectors and proactive asset management, Markaz remains committed to supporting our clients in achieving their financial goals with confidence and clarity.' Markaz has been an active investor in the US real estate market since 1977 and continues to execute its international real estate investments in the market through Mar-Gulf Management, its international real estate arm, since 1988. Over the past 37 years, Markaz has participated in the acquisition, development, and management of assets across the industrial, storage, retail, residential, and office segments. Looking ahead, Markaz remains dedicated to adopting a selective, forward-looking investment strategy, focusing on development and value-add opportunities within the industrial and living sectors, while expanding its real estate credit services. Additionally, Markaz will continue to prioritize senior debt and mezzanine structures to optimize capital efficiency and diversify return streams. With expectations of improving credit conditions and a potentially more favorable interest rate environment in 2025, Markaz aims to position its portfolio for long-term growth. This strategy will emphasize partnerships with high-quality partners and target high-demand markets, ensuring resilient and sustainable performance. As it marks 50 years of pioneering investment excellence, Markaz remains committed to creating long-term value for its clients through global insight, innovative strategies, and a foundation of trust and performance.

Lemnisk Unveils Industry-First Innovations for the AI Era of Customer Engagement
Lemnisk Unveils Industry-First Innovations for the AI Era of Customer Engagement

Al Bawaba

time4 days ago

  • Al Bawaba

Lemnisk Unveils Industry-First Innovations for the AI Era of Customer Engagement

Lemnisk, a leading enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP) and marketing technology company, today introduced a suite of AI innovations that mark a significant leap forward in real-time, personalized customer engagement. Trusted for its enterprise-grade security and compliance, Lemnisk's enhanced platform now introduces advanced capabilities designed to power the next era of intelligent, AI-driven marketing automation.● Real-Time, Event-Driven Predictive Scoring: Go beyond static segmentation. Lemnisk now categorizes audiences in real time based on their immediate purchase likelihood or churn probability. This enables brands to proactively engage customers with timely retention and conversion strategies triggered by their actual behavior.● Entity-Level Identity Resolution: Move beyond the 'one-size-fits-all' customer profiles. Now, you can unify customer intelligence across business lines - credit cards, loans, investments, and more - while still executing campaigns at the individual product level.● Voice to CDP: Feed in contact center recordings to auto-transcribe, extract sentiment and topic insights, and seamlessly feed them into the CDP as real-time segmentation signals. With automated clustering and no manual tagging required, this feature powers real-time personalization for voice journeys.● MCP Compliance for AI Agents: Lemnisk CDP is now MCP (Model Context Protocol) compliant via Lemnisk's external API and MCP Server Integration framework. This enables brand agents to securely access contextual enterprise data in real time and complete transactions inside conversations.'The exploding AI landscape demands foundational changes in how enterprises understand & engage with customers. Traditional models of real-time responsiveness are being disrupted with agentic AI,' said Subra Krishnan, CEO of Lemnisk. 'Our latest innovations reflect a bold step forward, empowering marketers to anticipate needs, personalize at scale, and show up for customers in the exact moments that drive loyalty and growth. Just as importantly, we're future-proofing our platform to ensure enterprises stay ahead in an AI-first world'. These AI-native capabilities are now generally available to all Lemnisk customers. To fully leverage the power of real-time intelligence and next-gen personalization, Lemnisk recommends that customers on earlier versions migrate to the latest release of the CDP.

KIB Group, represented by KIB Invest, serves as Joint Lead Manager in Boubyan Bank's USD3 billion sukuk issuance
KIB Group, represented by KIB Invest, serves as Joint Lead Manager in Boubyan Bank's USD3 billion sukuk issuance

Al Bawaba

time5 days ago

  • Al Bawaba

KIB Group, represented by KIB Invest, serves as Joint Lead Manager in Boubyan Bank's USD3 billion sukuk issuance

Kuwait International Bank (KIB) Group announced that its investment arm, KIB Invest, successfully participated as a Joint Lead Manager (JLM) in the issuance of senior unsecured U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk with a five-year maturity, issued by Boubyan Sukuk Limited on behalf of Boubyan issuance, structured according to Wakala and Murabaha principles and valued at USD 500 million, is part of Boubyan Bank's USD 3 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Program. It garnered strong interest from both regional and international investors, reflecting solid confidence in Kuwait's Islamic financial and banking issuance is supported by Boubyan Bank's strong credit ratings from leading global agencies, including an 'A2' rating from Moody's and an 'A' rating from both Standard & Poor's (S&P) and on the occasion, Jamal Al Barrak, CEO of KIB Invest, said: 'We are pleased to have participated in this successful joint issuance. KIB Invest's involvement reflects the market's confidence in our Sharia-compliant investment instruments, as well as the trust placed in us by investors and stakeholders across both regional and global markets.'Al Barrak also highlighted that KIB Invest is strategically advancing its regional and international expansion by actively participating in high-profile transactions. He affirmed the company's commitment to delivering Sharia-compliant investment solutions through a growing platform, supported by a team of experts and aligned with international standards in Islamic her part, Ma'ab Mohammed Al Qassem, General Manager of International Banking and Financial Institutions at KIB, expressed her appreciation to Boubyan Bank for their confidence in the capabilities and expertise of KIB Invest's team. She noted that the selection of KIB's investment arm for this landmark issuance underscores the strength of relationships among local banks and sets the stage for deeper partnerships within Kuwait's Islamic banking added: 'This transaction also highlights KIB's ongoing support for local banks and its role in empowering regional financial institutions through strategic partnerships that enhance access to capital markets.'Al Qassem further reaffirmed KIB's commitment to fostering the growth of capital markets through innovative, Sharia-compliant solutions designed to deliver strong long-term investment sukuk issuance was jointly arranged by HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Citibank as global coordinators. In addition to KIB Invest, a number of prominent regional financial institutions also participated in managing the issuance, including Arab Banking Corporation, Boubyan Capital Investment Company, KFH Capital Investment Company, Warba Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, SMBC Bank International, and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. It is worth noting that KIB, through its investment arm KIB Invest, continues to solidify its position in the debt capital markets, driven by deep market expertise, disciplined execution, and a specialized team dedicated to providing Sharia-compliant financial solutions tailored to the needs of sovereign and institutional clients across the region.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store