Kotak Mahindra Bank's division intends to raise up to US$ 1 billion for investment in the data centre business. According to an official statement, Kotak Alternate Assets, a division of Kotak Investment Advisors (KIAL), appointed Subhamkar Das as the Chief Operating Officer for the 'Kotak Data Centre Funds platform'. Das, who joins the fund from Nxtra Data, will be a senior member of KIAL's alternate asset management team, helping to build the data centre practice at KIAL.
The fundraising plans were not mentioned in the statement, but market sources speculated that the private sector lender's arm plans to raise between USD 500 and USD 1 billion for the fund, which it plans to infuse into data centre businesses.
Since its inception in 2005, KIAL has raised/managed/advised over USD 6.8 billion in various asset classes, including real estate, infrastructure, private equity, special situations funds, and investment advisory. Typically, it raises funds from investors to bet on opportunities for higher returns, and it usually invests its own money as well.
Recently, the data centre industry has attracted investments from plenty of players, including announcements from industrial conglomerates such as Adanis and Hiranandani’s.
Srini Sriniwasan, Managing Director of KIAL, stated that India is on the verge of a "data explosion," and that the industry will grow from 650 MW to 2.2 GW over the next five years, involving a USD 7 billion investment.
