One of India’s leading special situations, credit
and distressed assets fund, Kotak Special Situations
is uniquely positioned to successfully source and
execute investments in this strategy.
Overview
Kotak Special Situations Fund makes strategic investments in companies with a sector agnostic approach. The Fund makes investments with the objective of obtaining primarily long-term capital appreciation and returns in the nature of interest, dividend, capital gains or share of profits through a combination of appropriate instruments on its investments.
We invest across sectors to tap into the special situations and stressed assets opportunity in India. We have expertise in a wide range of sectors including real estate, healthcare, infrastructure, power, consumer, industrials, information technology and financial services etc. All these sectors will benefit from rising income levels, increased consumption and favorable demographics in India. Such fundamental drivers coupled with attractive entry valuations in the distressed investments are expected to offer attractive returns to investors.
Investment Strategy
The Fund’s investment objective is to generate target returns by primarily investing in distressed/stressed or special situation opportunities in India. Investments typically involve a combination of debt, equity and mezzanine instruments. Our investment strategies focus on the following:
Special Situations: In certain special situation opportunities which may arise due to lack of liquidity or otherwise regulatory restrictions for banks and non-banking financial companies. These will include situations like investor take-out financing, group restructuring and promoter financing.
Asset Acquisitions: In limited ongoing business operations but with valuable assets which can be sold to generate returns. In such cases we look at pure asset plays, where we invest in entities with assets such as real estate, hotels or other commercial assets. Returns are generated predominantly by sale of underlying assets to one or multiple parties over a period of time.
Stressed Assets: With positive and stable business outlook and competent management. However, such businesses could be under financial stress for various external / transient reasons. In such cases, we partner with existing promoters by offering required financial support.
IBC Opportunities: With positive and stable business outlook and where a change or augmentation of management is necessary to improve performance for regulatory reasons. In such cases, we partner with strategic or operating partner to acquire and restructure the business.
Kotak Special Situations Fund differentiates itself in the following ways:
The Fund is focused on opportunities in special situations like investor take-out financing, group restructuring and promoter financing, credit and distressed assets under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), pre-IBC opportunities, and assets under liquidation.
The Fund has a broad mandate to invest across asset types and sectors with a flexible approach to investing and structuring.
The Group and team has a deep understanding of various sectors and experience of working with Indian promoters over last 30+ years.
Our Team
Eshwar Karra
CEO – Special Situations Fund
Eshwar joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 2000 and brings with him over two decades of financial services experience.
Read MoreRahul Chhaparwal
Executive Director
Rahul has been with Kotak Special Situation Fund since inception and plays a pivotal role across all the facets of its operations...
Read MoreRahul Shah
Executive Director
Rahul Shah has joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in January 2019 after spending more than 7 years with Kotak Private Equity Group.
Read MoreShishir Srivastava
Vice President
Shishir Srivastava joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in February 2021 and brings with him 11 years...
Read MorePratik Parekh
Vice President
Pratik Parekh joined Kotak’s Special Situations Fund in January 2019 and brings with him almost 13 years of experience....
Read MoreAnkit Deora
Vice-President
Ankit Deora joined Kotak Special Situations Fund (“KSSF”) in July 2021 and is heading the Asset Management Function at KSSF.
Read MoreAmrit Jaiswal
Vice-President
Amrit Jaiswal joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in December 2022 and has 10 years of rich and diverse experience across multiple private equity...
Read MoreHimanshu Punjabi
Associate
Himanshu joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in September 2021.
Read MoreAkshit Sandooja
Associate
Akshit Sandooja joined KSSF in June-2022 and has ~4 years of experience in Investment banking...
Read MoreShyam Tibarewala
Associate
Shyam Tibarewala joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in Sep-2022 and has 6 years of experience in Investment Banking...
Read MoreDivvya Mutreja
Analyst
Divvya Mutreja joined KSSF in April-2022 as an Asset Management Analyst. She has a capital market experience of ~2.5 years & is skilled in equity investing...
Read MoreDivvya Mutreja joined KSSF in April-2022 as an Asset Management Analyst. She has a capital market experience of ~2.5 years & is skilled in equity investing. She has worked at SD Real Estate Consultants for one year where she performed valuations, built client- focused proposals & closely tracked market trends. She has also interned at Phoenix ARC where she worked across various departments from acquisitions to resolutions & gained exposure to Distress Asset Investing.
Divvya holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (Mumbai) where she was also awarded the Dean’s List and has cleared CFA Level II.
Rishabh joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in June 2022.
Prior to joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Rishabh was part of EY’s Restructuring & Turnaround Services where he was part of the team that successfully completed the Resolution Process for India’s first Financial Service Provider (FSP) Company. He has also worked on various fund raise and debt refinancing and restructuring assignments.
Earlier, Rishabh had also worked in EY’s Business Consulting Team, focusing on helping companies redesign fragmented processed, reduce process inefficiencies, redraft financial and operations KPIs and ensure its successful implementation. His experience spans across sub-sectors such as BFSI, Real Estate & Infrastructure and Travel & Tourism.
Rishabh is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from H. R. College of Commerce & Economics. He is also pursuing CFA (Level 3 Candidate) from CFA institute, USA.
Akshit Sandooja joined KSSF in June-2022 and has ~4 years of experience in Investment banking across PE fundraises and M&A. Prior to Kotak, Akshit worked for ~3 years at Dolat Capital, where he was instrumental in setting up the investment banking practice. His experience spans across Technology (SaaS / IT Services), Consumer and Healthcare sector.
Akshit is an Electronics engineer from BITS Pilani and has completed his Masters in Finance from IE Business School, Madrid. He has also completed his MBA in Finance and Strategy from Indian School of Business (ISB).
Shyam Tibarewala joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in Sep-2022 and has 6 years of experience in Investment Banking, Investment Strategy and Audit.
Before joining Kotak Specials Situations Fund, Shyam was working with Polestar Capital, a boutique investment bank where he successfully closed transactions of >$500mn including private equity, structured finance, venture capital and debt restructuring.
Prior to this, Shyam has also worked in ICICI Bank’s Investment Strategy team and Royal Bank of Scotland’s Investment Banking team and successfully completed multiple deals covering some of the largest companies in UK and Europe. His experience spans across sectors such as sectors such as Pharma, Infrastructure, Industrials, Commodities, Consumer Staples and Automotive.
Shyam is a Chartered Accountant and has cleared all three levels of CFA (U.S). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Mithibai College, Mumbai.
Eshwar joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 2000 and brings with him over two decades of financial services experience. He is part of the core leadership team at Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd.
Eshwar is the CEO of Kotak Special Situations Fund where he oversees investments across all special situations, credit and stressed assets opportunities. The fund strategy is to invest in opportunities across all asset classes with a flexible approach to investing and structuring.
Prior to Kotak Special Situations Fund, Eshwar was the CEO of Phoenix Asset Reconstruction Company (a Kotak sponsored ARC) which had an AUM of USD 1 billion. During his 5 year tenure at Phoenix, he made investments across all major sectors and successfully resolved investments.
Eshwar was the founding member of the distressed assets business at Kotak and has helped the group in successfully investing over INR 2,500 crores (USD 417 million) of its proprietary capital in distressed assets. He has built time tested expertise in identifying distressed opportunities, structuring and executing complex financial transactions as well as securing profitable exits.
Prior to Kotak, Eshwar has worked at Ceat Financial Services (RPG Group) and Sundaram Finance Ltd.
Eshwar holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Pune and is a Management graduate from the Institute of Management Development and Research, Pune.
Rahul has been with Kotak Special Situation Fund since inception and plays a pivotal role across all the facets of its operations, including Fund Raise, Investor Interaction, Deal Origination, Investment, and Asset Management. As a representative of Kotak Special Situation Fund on the board of several Investee companies, he makes significant contribution in the strategic decision making, especially where the Fund has taken a controlling stake. Rahul has more than 16 years of diverse experience across Alternate Asset Investments, Investment Banking, Credit Rating and Management Consulting.
Rahul has been a part of the Kotak group for the past decade and prior to that he worked with CRISIL and A.F.Ferguson Consulting. He has hands-on experience of originating, structuring, and investing in transactions across sectors, situations, and capital stack.
Rahul is a Chartered Accountant and has a Master’s in Business Administration.
Rahul Shah has joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in January 2019 after spending more than 7 years with Kotak Private Equity Group. He brings with him more than 14 years of experience across private equity, investment banking and treasury, of which the last 10 years were in private equity.
Prior to joining Kotak, Rahul worked with Multiples Alternate Asset Management and Fidelity Growth Partners India where he was involved in several growth private equity transactions across IT, telecom, banking, services and infrastructure.
Before moving to private equity, Rahul worked in the Treasury and Investment Banking Group of ICICI Bank for 4 years where he led the TMT initiative for the Investment Banking group of the Bank.
Rahul is a CA, CS, CFA, FRM and MBA from INSEAD.
Piyush Thakkar joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in October 2020 and brings with him more than 15 years of experience across wealth management, wholesale and retail banking with the Kotak Group.
Before joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Piyush was part of Kotak wealth management business for almost 2 years, creating financial products around real estate. He played a pivotal role is establishing REITs as an asset class for hni investments.
Earlier, Piyush was part of Kotak wholesale banking for over 10 years in real estate developer finance. He was part of the initial team which set up the business and donned various hats ranging from asset monitoring, credit underwriting, client relationships, etc and went on to head the southern India markets. Before moving to wholesale banking, Piyush was with retail banking handling the product, policies and internal control function for almost 3 years.
Piyush started his career by handling concurrent audits of various departments of The Reserve Bank of India.
Piyush is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor degree in commerce from Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla University (Raipur, CG).
Pratik Parekh joined Kotak’s Special Situations Fund in January 2019 and brings with him almost 13 years of experience across distress investing, mergers, acquisitions, strategy and corporate finance.
Before joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Pratik was part of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Asset Reconstruction Business for almost 3 years, focusing primarily on investment, restructuring, resolution (forensic) & turnaround of distressed assets across sectors.
Earlier, Pratik was part of the Group Strategy team at Kotak Mahindra Bank for 5 years and has worked on Kotak's investment in ING Vysya Bank, Airtel Payments Bank, MCX India and various other assignments of Kotak Group for driving productivity & profitability. He started his career with Walplast Products Private Limited in the corporate finance division and worked there for almost 2 years.
Ankit Deora joined Kotak Special Situations Fund (“KSSF”) in July 2021 and is heading the Asset Management Function at KSSF. He is a seasoned credit professional with 12+ years of diverse experience in the areas of risk assessment across large corporates, structured finance and distressed asset credit.
Prior to joining Kotak, Ankit spent 4+ years at Edelweiss wherein he was responsible for managing the credit risk for AUM of ~USD 1.5 billion for Edelweiss Distressed Asset Business. Prior to that, he was working with ICRA for 8 years executing credit rating assignments of listed/unlisted corporate entities encompassing diverse sectors.
Ankit holds a Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) degree from NM College (Mumbai University) and an M.B.A. from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. He has also completed CFA from CFA institute, USA.
Amrit Jaiswal joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in December 2022 and has 10 years of rich and diverse experience across multiple private equity and investment banking firms. He was awarded 40 under 40 Alternative Investment Professional.
In his last private equity role at Oman India Joint Investment Fund, he evaluated, sourced and consummated multiple private equity investments across sectors, and completed profitable exits. He was awarded Economic Times Young Leader 2019.
During his previous Investment Banking roles across Edelweiss and MAPE, he handled Private Equity, IPO and M&A deals across the transaction lifecycle and consummated multiple transactions including the USD 80mn sale of a domestic pharma business. He was awarded Edelweiss Emerging Leader 2019.
In his founding years at Goldman Sachs - Investment Banking Division and Barclays - Proprietary Desk he successfully completed multiple marquee deals working across India and New York offices.
He is a rank-holder post graduate from IIM Indore and a rank-holder IT engineering graduate from Delhi University. He is a CFA charter holder and a FRM. He did “Leading with Finance” program from the Harvard.
Sanket joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in August 2021.
Before joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Sanket was working with the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank where he was aligned with the UK mergers & acquisitions team. He has worked mainly with FTSE100 clients across sectors - tobacco, consumer healthcare, gaming, retail. Prior to his stint at DB, he had worked with Pantaloons (ABFRL) in their Finance & Commercial team.
Sanket is a Chartered Accountant and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from Government Law College, Mumbai and a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Narsee Monjee College, Mumbai.
Himanshu joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in September 2021.
Prior to joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Himanshu was part of the Management Consulting team at EY-Parthenon in Singapore for ~1 year, where he was involved in advising MNCs on Revenue Growth Management, Profitability Improvement, Pricing strategies etc. for South East Asian Market.
Earlier, Himanshu has worked in Investment Banking for 3.5 years, focusing on helping companies raise growth capital and on cross-border M&A activity. His experience spans across sub-sectors such as Food & Beverage, Industrials, Chemicals, Automotive Components, etc.
Himanshu is a CA and holds an MBA from Indian School of Business and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from H. R. College of Commerce & Economics.
Aakash joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in March 2019 and brings with him 3 years of investment banking experience across real estate, hospitality, consumer, industrials and healthcare sectors
Prior to joining Kotak Special Situations Fund, Aakash was part of the investment banking team of (Yes Securities) and also had a short stint with JM Financial in their investment banking team. He has also worked with KLBJ spanning experience in investment banking and consulting in diverse sectors.
Aakash has 3 years of articleship experience in audit, accounting, investment banking and consulting services across sectors and multiple industries. He is highest rated corporate trainer and has also trained many students and corporate professionals in financial modeling, valuations, corporate strategy, financial analysis, etc
Aakash is a CA (Chartered Accountant) and has cleared all 3 levels of the CFA Program (CFA Institute, USA). He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from SIES College, Mumbai University
Shishir Srivastava joined Kotak Special Situations Fund in February 2021 and brings with him 11 years of financial services experience of which 9 years were spent in private equity investing in India.
Previously, Shishir spent 6 years at Apollo Global’s India dedicated fund, AION Capital, a ~USD 1 billion fund where he was responsible for investments across buyouts, distressed and special situations. Prior to AION Capital, Shishir worked at Everstone Capital for a period of 3 years.
Shishir holds a B.E. degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai and an M.B.A. from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.
HKR Roadways
HKR Roadways Limited (HKR) is special purpose vehicle (SPV) that was awarded a 25 year concession by the Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation (now Telangana Government) to develop and operate a 207 kilometre road.
A 207 km, 4-lane Toll Road highway project, covering the existing Hyderabad Karimnagar Ramagundan section of State Highway One (SH1). The Project was awarded under Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis.
KSSF has invested INR 715 Cr in a combination of debt and equity of HKR. The investment helped HKR complete a one-time settlement with existing lenders and resolve its debt issues. The resolution helped HKR to focus on achieving COD (currently at PCOD status), and unlocked funds for operational improvement.
Read MorePrius Commercial Projects
Prius Commercial Projects Private Limited (Prius) is engaged in leasing out commercial space and predominantly owns the building named Premium Commercial Property in Saket, New Delhi with a leasable area of 258,957 sq.ft..
Prius was undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. A KSSF led consortium emerged as the successful resolution applicant, with the Honorable NCLT, Delhi duly approving its resolution plan.
The investment provides KSSF with a platform to build a portfolio of real estate office assets along the lines of Prius, leveraging on the group's extensive expertise in real estate as well as the resolution of stressed assets. The investment allows the refurbishment and leasing of Prius’ office space, where KSSF will support a professional management team.
Read MoreDCW
DCW Limited (DCW) is a leading Chlor-Alkali based chemicals producer with increasing focus on specialty chemicals. It was established in 1925 as India’s first soda ash factory at Dhrangadhra in Gujarat. In 1959, it commissioned its chlor-alkali plant at Sahupuram in Tamil Nadu. DCW manufactures products like PVC, C-PVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride), caustic soda, soda ash and SIOP (synthetic iron oxide pigment). It is a market leader in specialty chemicals like C-PVC and SIOP.
DCW is scaling up capacity for its products with major capital expenditure done over the last few years in the specialty chemical segment and de-bottlenecking of commodity chemical business. It plans to focus on niche specialty chemical business to ramp-up its profit margin profile.
KSSF has invested Rs. 410 crore in the form of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) in the company. KSSF funding has helped DCW refinance its existing term loans, improve its working capital, enhance its capacity utilization to meet with the growing demand for its products and scale up the specialty chemicals operations.
AGS
AGS Transact Technologies Limited (AGSTTL) is a leading ATM managed services and Cash management services provider in India. It also provides banking automation solutions and is the largest integrated omni-channel payment solutions provider in India, providing digital and cash-based solutions to banks and corporate clients.
AGSTTL is one of the largest provider of end-to-end cash and digital payment solutions and automation technology in India with over 30,000 ATMs under management. It also provides cash management services (CMS) to over 47,000 ATMs through its subsidiary Securevalue which is the second largest CMS player in the country.
KSSF has invested Rs 350 crore in the form of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). KSSF investment in AGSTTL has significantly improved the financial risk profile of the group and help the company implement the next phase of growth.
Pandora Projects
Pandora Projects Private Limited (Pandora) is a Joint Venture between Prestige Estate Projects Limited and DB Realty Limited for development of a Grade A commercial development located opposite Mahalaxmi Race Course, Worli, Mumbai.
The project will be on a land parcel admeasuring 5.59 acres and has development potential of over 2.5 Mn Sq ft of leasable area. It is located in one of the prime market of Central Mumbai and is ideal for such development with splendid view of Race Course. Residential project proposed thereon was delayed due to various issues faced and multiple third party claims created over the years.
KSSF has invested 525 Crs as debt and the investment will help the Joint Venture Partners to meet project development cost and various pre approval cost for their upcoming commercial development.
OmniActive Health Technologies
Established in 2005, OmniActive Health Technologies (“OmniActive”) seeks to improve lives by enhancing nutrition and wellness through science and innovation. OmniActive’s extensive portfolio consists of natural, scientifically-validated, sustainable and IP-protected ingredients for global customers in dietary supplements and functional foods and beverages.
Some of the Company’s leading brands include Lutemax, Capsimax, CurcuWIN, Gingever, Xtenergy and OmniXan. OmniActive partners with customers through its sales and distribution networks in key markets worldwide, supported by three global R&D centers and best-in-class production facilities throughout India. The Company has offices in Mumbai, India and Morristown, New Jersey.
KSSF has invested Rs. 250 crore to help promoter buy-out the B2C supplements business from OmniActive, provide dry-powder for further investment in the B2C business and provide the ability to support any future acquisitions by OmniActive. The Company has built a strong reputation and deep customer relationships and with help of KSSF investment the OmniActive team will further be able to accelerate the growth in this business.
Jindal Stainless Limited
Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) is one of the largest stainless steel producer in India. JSL along with its sister company, Jindal Stainless Hisar Limited (JSHL) ranks amongst the top 10 stainless steel conglomerates in the world.
JSL has an integrated stainless steel manufacturing capacity located in the eastern part of India in the state of Odisha. Its current installed stainless steel manufacturing capacity is 1.1 million tons per annum, this can eventually be scaled up to 3.2 million tonnes per annum. The manufacturing complex is also equipped with a captive ferro alloy capacity.
KSSF invested Rs.500 crore in the debt and equity of JSL. This helped JSL come out of corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process and also ensured promoters equity in the company was not diluted. The CDR exit has provided financial and operational flexibility to the business. JSL can now chart out its growth and debottlenecking plans by approaching the financial markets on competitive terms.
Nuvoco Vistas Corporation
Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited (Nuvoco) is a leading cement manufacturer with a focus on East, West and North India. KSSF invested Rs.500 crore into convertible equity of Nuvoco to help it finance the acquisition of Emami Cement Ltd. (ECL), the cement business of the Emami Group based in Eastern India.
ECL acquisition will bring Nuvoco’s total cement capacity to more than 20 mtpa, including an ongoing capacity expansion project at its Jojobera plant. The combined operations will span three facilities in Chhattisgarh, two each in Rajasthan and West Bengal and one each in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Haryana. The acquisition consolidates Nuvoco’s position as a leading cement manufacturer in Eastern India.
Nuvoco’s product portfolio includes cement (high-performing, premium and blended varieties), ready-mix concrete (RMX) and modern building materials comprising of construction chemicals, multipurpose bonding agents as well as waterproofing agents.