The Press Trust of India Limited

October 17, 2006

Garnett & Helfrich Capital to expand operations

Bangalore—Garnett & Helfrich Capital, a private equity firm specialising in venture buyouts (VBOs) is expanding its operations in India, with the launch of its first investment office in Mumbai, its top official said.

“The new office in Mumbai is being established mainly to support our portfolio companies in the region and identifying new acquisition targets for our venture buyout fund” Terry Garnett, the firm’s Managing Director told reporters here.

Garnett & Helfrich Capital also announced its investment in Celunite, a provider of open mobile platform software and services with development teams located across India.

“We will also leverage our Mumbai-based operations to identify new investments in leading technology sectors such as open source mobile platforms like Celunite,” Garnett said.

Garnett & Helfrich has acquired a controlling stake in California-headquartered Celunite which has development centres in Pune and Hyderabad. Celunite transaction is Garnett’s fourth and most recent venture buyout investment.

An USD 350 million private equity fund founded in 2004, Garnett & Helfrich focuses on emerging venture buyout segment for mid-sized technology spinouts.

“The company has invested USD 30-50 million in its first deal and is looking for an average revenue of USD 50-200 million. We are looking at doing three to four investments a year,” Garnett said.