Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors announced the first closing of Singapore-based EW Special Opportunities Fund II ("ESOF - II") at USD 205 million.

ESOF - II is the successor fund to the USD 230 million, ESOF I, 2010 vintage and is being advised by Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Pte. Singapore. It will seek to invest in privately-negotiated collateralized credit transactions with a focus on earning strong risk-adjusted returns.

ESOF II received excellent backing from a group of new and existing institutional investors, including public pensions, insurance companies, etc.

Ananth Shenoy, Head of Credit Alternatives, Global Asset Management, Edelweiss Group, commented, "We are delighted with the response we have received to this fundraising, mostly from existing investors. The activity in the alternatives space in India has picked up significantly over the past year and we are seeing exciting opportunities, especially in the credit space."

According to Venkat Ramaswamy, Executive Director & Co-head Global Asset Management, Edelweiss Group, "Credit is a scalable asset class in India and Edelweiss' investment strategy provides a good way to play the India growth story in a risk-adjusted manner. Acceleration of India's economic growth has led to an increasing requirement of capital by business owners in India and we are well-positioned to meet their needs and simultaneously providing the fund investors with an opportunity to participate in the company's growth while avoiding equity-like risk."

Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors platform advises global and domestic investors on investing in liquid, illiquid and hybrid investment strategies in India.