Sandstone capita increases its exposure to India - invests in Phoenix and PSL

Hedge funds joined in on the bull rally as the country’s bellwether index breaches the 10K mark on strong global cues. Sandstone Capital, an India focused hedge fund with $1 billion capital under management, picked up stakes in Phoenix Mills and PSL Ltd from open market on Thursday. Sandstone has picked up a little more than 2% stake in Atul Ruia-promoted real estate developer Phoenix Mills for Rs 18.3 crore. Sandstone also picked up a 1.53% stake in PSL Ltd for Rs 4.23 crore. PSL Ltd is involved in manufacturing and coating of pipes for transporting hydrocarbon products, water products, and steel structural applications. The company has been promoted by Punj family and claims to be largest manufacturer of high grade large diameter Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) pipes in India. Present shareholders of Phoenix Mills include Americop Ventures, New Vernon, Deutsche Securities, Kotak Mahindra, among others. Phoenix Mills raised Rs 1,300 crore from German real estate fund MPC Synergy for its various projects in August last year. Trafelet Company was another hedge fund busy in the market, but it was selling its holding in various companies. The hedge fund sold its holdings in various companies like Central Bank of India, TVS Motor Company, Jagaran Prakash, and JK Lakshmi Cement to Morgan Stanley Mauritius. Sandstone has made a few private equity investments in the country. It's last investment was in Hyderabad based SKS Microfinance, for which it was the lead investor in a $75 million round. Its other investments include optical networking product company Tejas Networks and local search firm Guruji.