Aloe Private Equity, a Mauritius- based company that focuses on Asia, seeks to raise as much as 350 million euros ($501 million) to invest in companies developing environmental technologies.
The company expects to close in the third quarter the first funding round for its Aloe Environment Fund III with capital commitments of about 100 million euros, according to Vivek Tandon, co-founder and general partner at Aloe.
It expects to investment in eight to 10 companies in fields such as waste management, recycling, water and energy efficiency that want to expand into Asia, Tandon said in an interview yesterday.
"Entrepreneurs in Asia were very quick to realize that being green was a profitable business and the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle could save their companies money," he said. Aloe has received commitments from two institutional sponsors and some of its existing partners.
Companies in Asia benefit from legislation and subsidies aimed at curbing air and river pollution caused by rapid growth in the manufacturing and energy industries, he said. Many countries in the region are also seeking to reduce their dependence on coal and to develop infrastructure sustainably.
Low-Carbon Technology
Investment in low-carbon energy in China expanded 30 percent to $51.1 billion in 2010 in response to government incentives and cheap debt, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The London-based research company reported a record $243 billion in global investments in low-carbon technology last year.
Aloe also expects to address the significant gap between the supply of energy and the demand in India, Asia's third- largest energy consumer, Tandon said. Low-carbon power investment in India rose to $4.1 billion in 2010 from $3.2 billion a year earlier, according to New Energy Finance.
Aloe, founded in 2003, has 180 million euros in assets under management and 10 companies in its portfolio. Three are in discussions with potential acquirers or are considering initial public offerings, he said.
Another Aloe-backed company, the Isle of Man-based renewable energy developer Greenko Group Plc (GKO), raised 45 million pounds ($73 million) selling shares in 2007 on London's Alternative Investment Market. It had 183 megawatts of installed capacity in India as of July, including hydroelectric power and biomass plants, and a total of 667 megawatts in operation or under development.
"Listing these companies in the U.K. has proven to be very successful due to comfort of the funds to invest and leverage, structuring opportunities available to them," Tandon said.
