Edelweiss Alternative on Tuesday said it is targeting to raise $1 billion (about Rs 8,000 crore) in its third distressed asset fund, eyeing strong opportunities in the space.

The company has already raised $425 million, or Rs 3,400 crore, for the third ‘Special Situations Fund’ (SSF III) from large insurance companies and pension funds globally, as also domestic high-net individuals and family offices, it said in a statement.

Under an SSF, the company focuses on asset-heavy companies and identifies viable underlying businesses that have a strong turn around potential, or invest in situations where resolution of asset requires capital and domain expertise, it said.

In the second fund launched in 2018, it invested Rs 10,500 crore and realised cash of more than Rs 9,500 crore from the portfolio companies, it said.

Under the latest fund, it is targeting to raise $1 billion with a greenshoe option of $500 million, the statement said.

Of the Rs 3,400 crore raised till now for the third SSF, it has already invested Rs 1,000 crore in two special situation opportunities and said there is a strong pipeline of opportunities in the space.

“Special situation opportunities provide an exciting avenue for generating superior risk-adjusted returnsfor investors,” Edelweiss Alternative head for special situation strategy, Amit Agarwal,said.

He added that the strategy caters to both corporates looking for specialised financing solutions to turn around their business fortunes and also financial institutions looking to sell or resolve their existing portfolio assets.