Ashapura gets investments from Canbank Capital Fund

Canbank Venture Capital Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Canara Bank, has invested Rs 25 crores (4.56 million dollars) in Gujarat-based Ashapura Garments for an undisclosed stake. CVCFL made the investment from its Rs 500 crores Emerging India Growth Fund, managed by Canbank. The funds would be utilised by the company, a manufacturer of jeans and casual wear for men and women, to set up a manufacturing facility at the Gujarat SEZ.

Promoted by Bharat C Vedant in 1994, Ashapura manufactures denim apparels and markets its products under brands such as Winstone, Foster, Virgin, Tess and Bluewings. The company primarily has presence in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal. Globally, it caters to Europe, Asia and North America.

Ashapura has a manufacturing facility in Mumbai with a capacity of over 1.8 million pieces per annum. It is now expanding this capacity and the upcoming facility at the Gujarat SEZ will be producing three million pieces per annum. The total project cost stands at Rs 111.4 crores. The Emerging India Growth Fund is a 107 million dollars (Rs 583 crores) VC fund, providing finance to seed and early-stage companies. It seeks to invest in IT/ITeS, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, telecom, healthcare, education, manufacturing, engineering, automobile and infrastructure space, and typically invests 5.3-10.7 million dollars (Rs 28-58 crores) in its portfolio companies.