Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is planning to launch an India-specific fund for the first time, sources with knowledge of developments said. The amount raised is likely to be in the region of $3-4 billion, though that is yet to be decided.

Warburg Pincus has been investing in India since the 1990s and is aiming to ramp up its investments in the country.

At a public event last July, Vishal Mahadevia, MD, Head of Asia Private Equity and Co-Head Financial Services at Warburg Pincus said the firm had invested around $5 billion in India over the last 4-5 years and the intent was to invest in multiples of that in the near to medium term.

Emails sent to the firm’s local and global communication teams for clarification did not meet with a response.

Normally, global PE funds do not raise funds specifically for a single country such as India but allocate amounts from a regional or flagship fund and invest depending on opportunities available.

However in the last couple of years PE funds have made remarkable returns from their Indian portfolios driven by the public markets rally, and many of them such as Blackstone, Temasek have announced enhanced investments in the country.

With more entrepreneurs starting their own ventures or older enterprises planning to expand, there are more investment opportunities in India justifying the need for a specific fund.

Warburg Pincus is understood to have been thinking of an India-focused fund for some time now and sources said that a launch was imminent.

The New York-headquartered PE firm has been busy in India last year. In August it acquired a majority stake in Ebco, a big player in the furniture fitting and architectural hardware segment, valuing the company at around ₹3000 crore.

In May it had acquired Shriram Housing Finance at valuation of ₹4630 crore, one of its largest bets in India.

In April it made its largest investment in the Indian healthcare sector, buying over 60 per cent in ophthalmic equipment maker Appasamy Associates, for around $300 million according to reports.

One of the most well-known and high profile investments of Warburg Pincus in India was Bharti Airtel, in which it first invested in 1999, led it through its IPO in 2002 and exited in 2005 with a total reported gain of $2.5 billion.

Its other portfolio companies in India include Apollo Tyres, Avanse Financial Services, Biba, boAt, Ecom Express, Good Glamm and Home First Finance, in which it recently pared stake.