Avendus, a leading financial services firm, has announced the launch of its third Future Leaders Fund (FLF III) with a target to raise ₹3,000 crore. The fund includes a green-shoe option to raise an additional ₹1,500 crore, signaling a strong commitment to late-stage investments in private markets.
FLF III aims to focus on large-cap investments, planning to make 10-12 investments with an average ticket size ranging from ₹200 crore to ₹300 crore each. The fund will primarily target sectors such as financial services, consumption, digital and technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.
“Our approach remains straightforward – harnessing the vast potential of late-stage private opportunities while co-opting the existing financial sponsor ecosystem,” said Ritesh Chandra, Managing Partner at Avendus Future Leaders Fund. “We continue to back differentiated, high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive moats and a clear roadmap to liquidity.”
The fund will pursue both primary and secondary transactions, specifically targeting companies with disaggregated institutional investor shareholding. These companies are expected to possess a strategic competitive edge, robust execution capabilities across market cycles, and strong operating metrics with dominant market positions.
Leveraging its extensive network and expertise in the investor ecosystem, Avendus‘ third fund aims to capitalize on unique opportunities and multiple exit strategies, including secondary exits and public market sales, to provide periodic liquidity to investors. This strategy has gained importance as investors seek returns and exits in the wake of overvalued investments made during the pandemic.
Avendus has reported successful exits from its first fund, including Lenskart Solutions Private Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, both of which generated nearly 4x returns for investors within four years. The first fund returned the entire investor capital ahead of schedule with attractive returns. The second fund has completed 11 investments and plans to deploy the remaining capital over the next few months. Additionally, four of its portfolio companies are expected to list on exchanges in the next 6-9 months.
To date, FLF has managed over ₹1,850 crore in assets across its two funds. The FLF platform is backed by prominent Indian and US family offices as well as domestic institutions. Its portfolio includes notable companies such as Bikaji Foods, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Licious, FirstCry, Delhivery, and VerSe Innovation (Dailyhunt).
With FLF III, Avendus continues to reinforce its position in the private equity space, focusing on high-growth sectors and promising opportunities to deliver substantial returns for its investors.
