With NRI investors suing it in Mauritius for $103 million (Rs. 618 crore) in damages for a fund that underperformed, the ICICI group has decided to contest the charges.
“The allegations levelled by a set of investors, constituting only 12 per cent of the investors in the funds concerned, are totally baseless, not supported by facts and are malicious,” an ICICI Venture spokesperson said in a statement.
ICICI Venture said it managed assets of over $2.5 billion and had delivered returns to its investors across various private equity (PE) funds.
“It is common knowledge that globally, PE as an asset class does not guarantee returns given the equity risks involved. Also, projects in real estate have a long gestation period and hence the returns accrue over a period of time,” the statement added.
“ICICI Venture has extended the fund’s life by three years to optimise the realisations. ICICI Venture also simultaneously offered investors a cash exit option in line with global best practices.”
