Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Acquires Stake in India’s One Planet Partners to Anchor USD 315m Industrial Fund
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank has acquired a minority stake in Mumbai-based asset manager One Planet Partners Private Limited and signed an agreement to establish a dedicated Separately Managed Account (SMA) as an anchor investor.
Under the arrangement, One Planet Partners plans to deploy approximately 30 billion rupees ($315 million) over the next five years into real assets across India's manufacturing, mobility, and energy transition sectors. Ticket sizes are expected to range from $25 million to $75 million per transaction, structured to benefit from governmental industrial policies such as "Make in India". The fund completed its initial deal in August with an investment in the mobility enterprise Yulu Bikes.
The transaction reflects an ongoing deployment of capital by major Japanese financial institutions into the Indian market, supported by the country's annual economic growth rate of approximately 7%. Kazuya Yoneda, general manager of the equity investment department at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, confirmed that the institution intends to develop a long-term partnership across various asset classes.
One Planet Partners was established in 2024 by former Tata Group executives Mukund Rajan and Bobby Pauly, former McKinsey senior partner Mrinalini Mirchandani, and former Blackstone executive Sheetal Thakkar. The firm is targeting what it terms a "missing middle" in Indian corporate financing—providing equity capital to growth-stage mid-market businesses that sit between early-stage venture capital and large buyout transactions.
To counter foreign exchange risks and currency depreciation headwinds, the firm is targeting gross returns of 25% to 30% and focusing on export-oriented companies that generate revenue in foreign currencies. Alongside Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, the firm plans to secure additional commitments from Asian, Japanese, and domestic Indian institutional investors. Senior advisers to the platform include former Tata executive Raju Bhinge, former Tata Power CFO Ramesh Subramanyam, and former Mitsubishi private equity executive Riki Kojima.
Norbert Gehrke
