Raine announces expansion into India with Gaurav Mehta as MD and Head

The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media and telecommunications, announced that it will expand its operations into India and open a new office in Mumbai. Raine also announced that Gaurav Mehta will head the firm’s new India business as a Managing Director based in Mumbai. Mr. Mehta was previously head of India Investment Banking at UBS.

The Mumbai operation, which will be led by Mr. Mehta, will further expand Raine’s global footprint, providing a strong on-the-ground presence in the Indian market and enhancing the firm’s ability to continue advising clients on a global basis. Raine will operate through a newly-formed Indian subsidiary which it is in the process of establishing, and expects to complete this process, locate office space and commence operations in early May.

The Raine team has over 70 years of combined experience advising on M&A and capital raising transactions in India. Most recently, Raine advised on a number of transactions in India including advising SoftBank on its initial investments in Ola Cabs and other Indian consumer internet companies and YuppTV (a leading OTT platform) on its capital raise from Emerald Media. The firm has also assisted several of its portfolio companies and global clients in developing strategic partnerships in India.

“India has long been an important geography for Raine and we are seeing an increasing amount of M&A and investment activity in the TMT space, as well as potential expansion opportunities for our portfolio companies,” said Brandon Gardner, President of Raine. “We are thrilled to have someone with Gaurav’s deep ties and experience in India to head our new initiatives, which provide us a stronger foothold in the region and allow us to further grow and strengthen our global network.”

Mr. Mehta has over 15 years of experience advising Indian companies. He was previously responsible for the overall investment banking and financing business for UBS in India, based in Mumbai. While at UBS, Mr. Mehta’s focus included the TMT sector and he advised on some of the largest M&A and most significant capital raising transactions in the Indian media & communications and consumer internet sectors, including for clients such as Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, Reliance Communications, Videocon D2h and Flipkart. Before joining UBS, he led the coverage of Indian telecom, real estate and financial sponsor clients at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Mehta started his investment banking career in 2001 with HSBC Investment Bank, based in London. Mr. Mehta has a Bachelor of Commerce (with honors) from Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi University and a Master of Science in Accounting & Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.