American Private equity investor W.L. Ross & Co. LLC, which specialises in corporate turnaround, is entering the Indian market though the $37-million (Rs. 1.70 billion) acquisition of textile company OCM India Ltd.

OCM has a state-of-the-art worsted textile manufacturing facility, according to a press release. The company's products are marketed globally.

Ross's all-cash acquisition of OCM follows a scheme of arrangement between Birla VXL Ltd and its existing lenders, creditors and shareholders and OCM and its shareholders. The process is being carried out through the Asset Reconstruction Company of India (ARCIL).

ARCIL CEO and Managing Director Sudhamoy Khasnobis said, "The OCM acquisition is the first 100 per cent buyout of a major Indian enterprise by a global turnaround fund."

W.L. Ross has sponsored over $4.5 billion of alternative investments since its founding in 2000. Known for restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles, W.L. Ross's notable principal transactions include rolling up five bankrupt US steel companies into the International Steel Group, which was sold in 2005 to Mittal Steel for $4.5 billion.