Motilal Oswal Alternates Invests ₹600 Crore in KARAM Safety for Global M&A Push

Harnesses, lanyards and safety helmets rarely make headlines. On Wednesday, they did. KARAM Safety Private Limited, India's largest fall-protection and personal protective equipment (PPE) company, has raised ₹600 crore from Motilal Oswal Alternates, the private equity arm of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The cheque comes from India Business Excellence Fund V (IBEF V), which closed at ₹8,500 crore in February this year. KARAM is the fund's fifth investment.

The money is not for business as usual. KARAM says the capital will drive an inorganic growth push, with strategic acquisitions across complementary product categories, technologies and international markets. Alongside that, it will invest in innovation, manufacturing and its global distribution network, and tighten corporate governance as it scales.

A quiet giant built over three decades

Founded in 1998, KARAM has grown into a company with more than 3,800 certified products covering harnesses, lanyards, helmets, safety footwear, respiratory, hearing and hand protection. It runs vertically integrated manufacturing across three Indian sites (Sitarganj, Lucknow and Coimbatore), one in South Africa (Ballito) and one in Brazil.

The company sells under four global brands across the US, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia Pacific, exports to over 140 countries and employs more than 4,500 people. Over the years, its products have been approved by nearly every major safety certification agency in the world, a credential that has opened doors in markets where compliance is the first filter.

"This investment marks an important chapter in KARAM's journey," said Hemant Sapra, Co-Founder and President (Global Sales and Marketing). "It provides us with the strategic and financial flexibility to pursue meaningful acquisitions, enter new categories and markets, and accelerate our ambition of building KARAM into a global leader in the safety industry."

Rajesh Nigam, Co-Founder and President (Technical), added that the partnership would "further strengthen our global presence and escalate our position as market leaders in India too."

Why a PE fund wants a piece of workplace safety

For Motilal Oswal Alternates, the deal fits a thesis it has been building around niche manufacturing. The firm manages roughly ₹30,000 crore across private equity, real estate and private credit, with its PE business (set up in 2006) running about ₹18,000 crore across five funds focused on consumer, financial services, life sciences and niche manufacturing.

Prakash Bagla, Managing Director (Manufacturing Sector) at Motilal Oswal Alternates, framed the bet around India's emergence as a credible global hub for high-quality safety and industrial products. KARAM, he said, is one of the few homegrown brands with real depth in R&D, manufacturing and international distribution.

The category itself is what makes the timing interesting. Bagla pointed to three structural tailwinds: rising workplace safety standards, growing regulatory enforcement, and sustained industrial capex. Every new factory, warehouse, construction site and data centre needs PPE, and buyers increasingly cannot cut corners on certification.

"We are impressed with the founders' relentless focus on innovation, global product quality and manufacturing excellence," Bagla said, adding that the fund will work closely with the team on acquisitions, institutional capability building and governance.

What to watch

The headline number is large for a category most people never think about, but the strategy is the real story. KARAM is signalling that it intends to become a diversified global safety solutions company through M&A rather than purely organic expansion. With five manufacturing sites on three continents and a certification footprint that few peers can match, it has the platform to absorb smaller brands and product lines.

The open questions are which categories it goes after first, and whether it buys distribution in developed markets or technology in adjacent segments. Expect the first answers within the life of this fund.

EY acted as sell-side investment banking advisor to KARAM Safety on the transaction.