Samena Capital, a one-year-old fund manager with an office in London, is planning to expand its operations out of the UK. Having identified Asia as a growth market the Samena management intends to set up offices in India and Japan by mid-2010. Instituted in February 2008, the company is promoted by a group of Indian and Middle Eastern entrepreneurs including Atul Punj, the founder of Indian engineering and construction firm Punj Lloyd.
Taking their first step towards establishing a foothold in the Asian region, Samena has decided to take over Hong Kong investment firm Vision Asia Pacific (VAP). According to a Reuters report, Samena manages a $200 million special situations fund and is in the process of raising money for a Japanese fund, will add $75 million to assets under management (AUM) after absorbing its Hong Kong counterpart.
Reuters quoted Samena President Shirish Saraf saying, "The VAP transaction will provide Samena with an Asian base to identify new opportunities as well as bring onboard asset managers with strong track records who lack access to capital."
Its first fund, the special situations fund, is understood to have returned 32% since its initial closing in August 2008. Just last month, the firm had launched a Japanese long/short equity fund with about $25 million in seed money that it hopes to grow to over $100
