Motilal Oswal Alternates Announces a Strong First Close of c. USD 800 Million,
in a few months of launching its Fifth Fund
Fund V aims to continue backing Mid-Market Businesses and Partnering with Visionary Entrepreneurs Building Lasting Companies
MUMBAI, India, August 21, 2025 : Motilal Oswal Alternates, a leading private equity firm in India, had launched its fifth vintage fund, India Business Excellence Fund V (IBEF V/ Fund V) with a target of USD 750 million and a hard-cap of upto USD 950 million, in mid-April. Within a few months of its launch, the fund has already garnered strong interests from well reputed global and Indian investors and successfully concluded a first close of c. USD 800 million. This new fund underscores Motilal Oswal Alternates’ commitment to supporting passionate promoters and businesses with strong growth trajectories across sectors. Following the full deployment of its fourth private equity fund (IBEF IV) of USD 550 million, and the successful final close of its sixth real estate fund (IREF VI) of USD 232 million and launch of its private credit business, IBEF V shall bring Motilal Oswal Alternates’ total assets under management to over USD 3.5 billion across private equity, real estate and private credit.
Motilal Oswal Alternates has been following the proprietarily developed QGLP philosophy of investing that has been an outcome of ~40 years of investing in India. “Typically, winners are the ones that showcase longevity of growth. For that getting the Q (quality of business & management) right of QGLP becomes critical. For the past two decades, we have been fortunate to partner with an incredible set of promoters and companies that are defining the future in their respective industries with passion and grace. The fund has been a first institutional investor in many companies such as AU, Dixon, Uno Minda, amongst others, who have over the years scaled to between ~USD 5-10 billion+ companies from less than USD 100 million at the time of investment.” said Mr Vishal Tulsyan, the Founder & Chairman at Motilal Oswal Alternates.
He further mentioned “With India GDP growing at ~2.5x the world average, we are very excited as India travels the journey from being a USD 4 trillion (fourth largest) economy today to USD 10 trillion in the next decade. With this backdrop, Fund V enables us to continue our legacy of partnering with businesses that demonstrate strong fundamentals and scalable profitable models, helping them accelerate growth and create lasting value.”
For Fund V, the firm has received commitments from well-reputed investors across the US, Europe, Japan, the Middle East and Asia including International Finance Corporation (IFC), global fund of funds Adams Street Partners, premier Japanese institutions along with global and domestic family offices and HNW investors. As a part of the first close, around 11% of total commitment in Fund V has come from the sponsor (Motilal Oswal Group) and team, as has been the case in all previous Motilal Oswal Alternates’ funds. For the remaining upto USD 150 million, the firm has received soft commitments/ in the midst of documentation with investors including Global Asset Management firms, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Domestic Banks and Insurance companies amongst others and expects to do a final close by end October 2025.
A Focused Strategy on Growth and Value Creation
Fund V targets to invest ~USD 40-80 million in mid-market companies across diversified sectors including consumer, financial services, niche manufacturing, healthcare and technology led businesses in each of these sectors. The firm is focused on identifying companies with strong competitive advantages and market leadership positions in large & scalable industries. Despite being minority investors (in some situations controlling stakeholders), the firm’s hands-on approach combines providing expansion capital along with expertise by its investments team, operating partners and functional experts team dedicated to portfolio companies, thereby helping them scale efficiently and capture emerging market opportunities.
Leveraging the Strength of the Motilal Oswal Ecosystem
Building on its successful track record of discovering rare, long term growth potential businesses early in their lifecycle (despite being a growth stage investor), Fund V shall also leverage the broader Motilal Oswal Group’s extensive experience in equities and public markets (managing an equity AUM of ~USD 38 billion), robust research infrastructure, and investment banking capabilities. The group''s wide footprint—spanning nearly 99% of India''s pincodes—offers deep local market insights and a strong reach.
Seasoned Team with Rich Hands-On experience
Motilal Oswal Alternates has a long tenured team, with seasoned professionals across sectors and functions, comprising thirty-one professionals (twenty-three investment professionals, two operating partners and a six-member functional experts’ team). The fund is led by co-founders and veteran investors Mr Raamdeo Agrawal and Mr Vishal Tulsyan. The leadership team includes four Managing Directors - Mr Rohit Mantri, Mr Vijay Dhanuka, Mr Prakash Bagla, and Mr Vinit Mehta, each heading a focus segment: Healthcare, Consumer, Manufacturing, and Financial Services, respectively. Recently, Mr Rohit Mantri and Mr Vijay Dhanuka were elevated to Co-heads of the fund, who have been with Motilal Oswal Alternates for a decade plus. A significant portion of the senior team is homegrown, providing the firm with a distinct advantage. This team endeavours to continue providing strategic guidance, operational support (across business excellence, human resources, technology and ESG impact), and capital structuring expertise to both existing and new investee companies.
Track Record of Growth and Exits
Since its inception in 2007, Motilal Oswal Alternates has made 50 investments and completed 23 successful exits, generating approximately USD 1 billion in liquidity. The firm’s portfolio companies have demonstrated strong financial performance, with average revenue growth of around 30% and profit growth of 40% over the past year.
Recent investments include Lahori Zeera (well-known brand in the cumin flavoured carbonated drink category), HealthKart (a leading sports nutrition brand), Lal Sweets (packaged Indian sweets), and Megafine Pharma (a niche API manufacturer). The fund has already committed around 14% of its capital to two investments (including Lahori Zeera) under Fund V.
Notable recent exits include IKF Finance (stake sold to Norwest PE), Happy Forgings (IPO and secondary market exit), and Dairy Classic (Dairy Day) (stake sale to Kedaara Capital). Additionally, ten investments with a total value of ~USD 400 million are expected to achieve liquidity events within the next 12 to 24 months.
About Motilal Oswal Alternates
Motilal Oswal Alternates, a prominent alternative investment platform in India, manages approximately USD 3.2 billion across private equity (incl. Fund V) and real estate strategies. Established in 2006, the private equity business manages USD 2 billion across funds, having backed mid-market businesses and enabling their next phase of expansion. In 2009, Motilal Oswal Alternates forayed into real estate, providing early-stage capital to established developers across India’s top cities. Today, the real estate platform manages approximately USD 1.2 billion across 190 investments and has successfully delivered 125 exits. Building on its track record and domain expertise in the mid-market space, Motilal Oswal Alternates plans to launch a private credit fund with a target size of USD 200-300 million in Q4 CY2025. With Private Equity Fund V and the new private credit offering, total assets under management are projected to exceed USD 3.5 billion within the next 12 months - solidifying its position further as a full-scale alternatives asset manager.
Motilal Oswal Alternates operates as an independent platform within the Motilal Oswal Group (MO Group), a well-regarded equity-focused financial services group in India. MO Group has businesses across Securities, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Alternatives, Housing Finance, and Investment Banking, and manages approximately USD 38 billion in equity AUM. Leveraging MO Group’s equities heritage and deep market presence, Motilal Oswal Alternates is committed to supporting transformative businesses, enabling them to scale and go public, while generating superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For more information, please visit https://www.motilaloswalalt.com