Michael Moritz

Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley's most respected venture capital firms, is continuing its aggressive expansion abroad, in a marked departure from the parochialism of its erstwhile its leader, Don Valentine.

In Sequoia's latest move, it has acquired Westbridge Capital Partners, an Indian firm which had around $350 million under management. It gives Sequoia a way to invest in start-up companies in the growing Indian market. Westbridge's old Web site, www.wbcp.com, has been switched to a URL for Sequoia Capital India. There is no mention of any separate fund, and we're not sure of the terms of the transaction. So we are using the term acquire here, first because of the wholesale name change, but second because it is highly likely that the Sequoia partners used their considerable clout to have claimed a stake in Westbridge. We're not certain, though. Sequoia has not responded to a request to comment.

The global foray comes under the leadership of the younger, Welsh-born Michael Moritz, as we've noted before with Sequoia's moves to China, Israel and lots of other places.

The firm's headquarters here in Silicon Valley is filled with partners who have come from other countries. Sequoia's transformation is happening even as its cross-town rival, Kleiner Perkins, has remained stubbornly local in its focus.

News of a possible deal was written up earlier today by the WSJ's Rebecca Buckman here (sub to VentureWire required), but the Web site change this morning at Westbridge confirms the news.

Westbridge, which also has an office in Foster City, has four managing directors, and they're expected to work closely with Sequoia's U.S. team, according to Buckman. It was founded by Sumir Chadha and K.P. Balaraj, who are featured on the site's home page, and were both U.S.-educated and previously worked for American investment banks.

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