The prestigious ‘Private Equity International’ (PEI) magazine has named Everstone Group ‘Mid-Market Firm of the Year in Asia’ for 2016, the first India-focused fund to receive such an honour. It was also named ‘Firm of the Year in India’ for an unprecedented sixth year running.

The PEI Awards are the largest, most respected awards in the global private equity industry. With multiple categories for selection, voters have the chance to vote for the categories across the Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Asia-Pacific.
 
The awards come on the back of Everstone significantly stepping up investment in India and Southeast Asia and expanding its international presence to the US through the acquisition of CRM firm C3/CustomerContactChannels, as well as by the opening of an investor relations and business development office in London.

“In the eyes of the private equity industry, there is a clear champion when it comes to investing in India. Singapore-based Everstone Group, which has won this category every year since 2011, has claimed the top spot again,” said PEI in its Annual Review 2016.

The awards follow a rigorous nomination and global voting process that involves investors, peers and other PEI subscribers from the private equity industry.

Sameer Sain, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Everstone Group, said: “We are extremely proud to be selected as the best mid-market firm in Asia, as well as the firm of the year in India for the sixth time in a row. The PEI awards recognise our belief in partnerships and their power. This recognition would not have been possible without the amazing work of our employees, as well as the strong and collaborative relationships we have with our investors and portfolio companies.”

Everstone had an eventful 2016 with several control deals across multiple sectors including ITeS, with  C3’s acquisition in October. In the healthcare and wellness sector, it acquired in March a majority stake in Ascent Health, a leading pharma delivery services company in India. It also acquired a majority stake in Rubicon Research, an India-based pioneering drug delivery technology company, in October. In the food sector, in April, Everstone completed the buyout of iconic Indian consumer brand Modern Foods. It also successfully exited several positions in Funds 1 and 2, and continued to return capital to LPs.