Aditya Birla Capital Advisors announces first closing of Aditya Birla Private Equity - Fund I

Commitments of over Rs. 675 crores in its maiden fund

Mumbai, January 18, 2010: Aditya Birla Capital Advisors (ABCAP), the private equity arm of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG), announced the first closing of the Aditya Birla Private Equity - Fund I, today.

The maiden fund has been very well received by domestic high net worth clients and institutional investors and has commitments of over Rs. 675 crores, despite an uncertain market environment. In view of continued strong patronage of investors, the Fund will continue to accept applications for a limited period and would announce its second and final closing shortly.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group said “Private Equity plays an important role in delivering the commitment of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group to meet all the needs of our target customers. We have ambitious plans for this business and our maiden fund’s mobilization of over Rs. 675 crores is a good first step in that direction. Our strong investment team will now put this money to work for our investors.”

As a demonstration of the Group’s commitment to the business, the Aditya Birla Group contributed twenty percent of the fund corpus.

The Aditya Birla Private Equity - Fund I seeks to deliver returns to its investors by investing in and harvesting business growth opportunities created by the strong economic prospects of the Indian economy. The Fund is a growth capital focused fund and will have an active investment approach. It proposes to target substantial minority stakes, while investing primarily in unlisted, mid-cap, high-growth, India-centric companies, and is sector-agnostic.

The fund has an Advisory Board including Mr. RC Bhargava and Dr. Ashok Misra.