More than a quarter of Inter-Globe Aviation's anchor book that was opened on Monday has been subscribed to by marquee investors participating in an Indian IPO for the first time. What's more, they have invested in the world's biggest, most profitable budget airlines. The first time investors include Neuberger Berman, a long term fund, APG a Dutch pension fund, Harvard Management Company and hedge funds Davis International Fund and Hutchin Hill which are invested through a P-note entity, said two people in the know.
Other names include Acacia Partners LP (Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb or RCG which had invested in the MCX IPO in 2012) and Columbia Threadneedle which is back after three years, he added.
Most of these are or have invested in global low fare carriers, the person said: Neuberger in Southwest Airlines, the world's biggest budget airline, JetBlue, EasyJet and Spirit Airlines; APG in EasyJet, Ryanair and Air Arabia, RCG in EasyJet and Davis in JetBlue, Southwest and Spirit.
Columbia Threadneedle manages $471 billion of assets across developed and emerging market equities, fixed income, asset allocation solutions and alternatives. Neuberger Berman in 2014 managed assets worth $251 billion, according to its latest annual report. Harvard Management manages the eponymous Ivy league university's $37 billion endowment as well as its related financial assets, using a hybrid structure integrating internal and external management. RCG runs the flagship Sequoia Fund and manassets worth over $30 billion. The origins of the fund can be traced back to one of the late founder Bill Ruane's friendship with Warren Buffet.
This shows the airline is bringing in new names to invest in India's corporate story. "A new investor is typically more cagey about putting in money than one with experience. These names show investors believe in IndiGo's business model and India's growth story," said Prithvi Haldea, chairman and managing director of Prime Database, a tracker o ..