September 2009
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Reliance Communications to Sell 10% Stake in Infratel

Reliance Communications Ltd., India’s second-largest wireless carrier, will soon seek regulatory approval for an initial share sale of a 10 percent stake in its Reliance Infratel Ltd. unit, Chairman Anil Ambani said, without providing a timeline. The Reliance Infratel telecommunications infrastructure unit, which sold a 5 percent stake to seven global investors for about $290 million in 2007, had revenue of more than 50 billion rupees ($1 billion) and a profit of 17 billion rupees in the year ended March 31, Ambani told shareholders in Mumbai today. Billionaire Ambani is tapping a revival in investors’ appetite for new stocks after Indian companies led by NHPC Ltd. raised $1.88 billion in August, or almost 27-fold the total amount in the first half of the year. […]

Aga Khan Foundation may hike DCB stake

The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (EKFEB), which is the single largest shareholder and holds 49 per cent of Development Credit Bank Ltd equity, is looking at hiking its stake in DCB, post the Government of India notification that the FDI in Indian banks can go up to 74 per cent. “The board meeting of DCB is expected to be held during this month a positive decision is expected on this front,” said H V Sheshadri, managing director & CEO of the bank. Sheshadri, who was in Bangalore to expand its branch network in the city, also announced the bank’s initiatives to be more retail focussed and upgrade its technology back-end. […]

Dabur readies war chest of $250-500 million for acquisitions news

Dabur India, one of India's leading personal care and food products companies, is planning to expand its operations by acquiring firms in the US, Europe, the UAE and Africa. “We are focussing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, mainly the UAE and Africa… and also looking at companies in Europe and the US where we don't have much of a footprint,” the company's vice chairman Amit Burman told reporters on the sidelines of a conference 'The India Retail Forum' on Thursday. “From the internal accruals and the debt we can raise we are looking at a size of $250-$500 million,” he added. […]

PNB looking to pick up stake in Kazak bank

The country's second largest lender, Punjab National Bank, is in the process of picking up a stake in a small Kazak bank, Metrokombank. PNB has been looking for acquisition in the oil-rich Central Asian state. Sources said the talks are at a very preliminary stage as several things need to be looked into, including regulatory approval. For, the minimum capital requirement for opening a bank in the country is high. The current volume of trade between India and Kazakhastan also does not warrant this kind of investment. Therefore, buying stake in a small bank is a viable option, the sources said. […]

3i Looks for Third India Port Stake as Traffic Rises

3i Group Plc, the London-based private-equity investor that has a $1.2 billion infrastructure fund for India, is looking to make its third investment in a port as the nation’s freight traffic exceeds capacity. “We like the space,” said Anil Ahuja, managing director of 3i’s India business and co-head of 3i Asia, in a telephone interview from Singapore. “India is amazingly short on port capacity.” He declined to identify the potential targets. 3i has placed a combined $211 million in Krishnapatnam Port Co. on India’s eastern coast and Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd. in the west to tap capacity in a nation where traffic is forecast by the government to almost double to 1 billion tons by March 2012. As much as 95 percent of the South Asian nation’s global trade is routed by sea and the ports require $20 billion in the next five years, according to India’s Planning Commission. […]

ICICI Venture Fund to sell its stake in Tebma Shipyards

Private equity (PE) firm ICICI Venture, an arm of ICICI Bank Ltd, is looking to exit shipbuilder Tebma Shipyards Ltd and has approached ABG Shipyard Ltd to buy its 53% stake, according to two persons familiar with the matter. ICICI Venture, which currently manages funds in excess of $2 billion (Rs9,640 crore) and is listed on the over the counter exchange of India (OTCEI), tapped ABG, India’s biggest private shipbuilder, after Larsen and Toubro Ltd showed no interest in the acquisition. The top management of ABG, accompanied by ICICI Bank officials, visited the facilities of Tebma Shipyards recently, said the two persons, who did not want to be named because the matter is confidential. […]

IDFC, Kribhco acquire 5% each in ICE

IDFC and Kribhco have bought 5% stake each in Indian Commodity Exchange, which is jointly promoted by Indiabulls Financial Services and MMTC. Kribhco is a co-operative society for the manufacture of fertilisers, while IDFC is a non-banking financial services company focused on the infrastructure space. “Once the formalities of the shareholding agreement are completed, we will apply to the regulator (Forward Markets Commission), to get their clearance,” Ajit Mittal, the bourse’s managing director told ET. […]

NEA picks up stake in RT Outsourcing for Rs 65 cr

US-based venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has picked up an undisclosed stake in Delhi-based RT Outsourcing for Rs 65 crore. RT Outsourcing offers repair and refurbishment services, technical support and call centre operations to third-party companies. “We have been growing rapidly over the last couple of years and with this investment we will be expanding our services lines and geographic spread through organic and inorganic means. NEA has picked up a stake in RT Outsourcing for Rs 65 crore,” RT Outsourcing Managing Director Shammi Moza said. […]

Blackstone infuses additional capital in Allcargo

Allcargo is a leading Indian private sector logistics operator and a niche global logistics player. Blackstone will invest an additional $23Mn, in Allcargo taking the total commitment to $75 Mn. As part of this transaction, Blackstone will continue to have representation on the Board of Allcargo. Commenting on the deal Mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman and Managing Director of Allcargo, said, “Blackstone has added tremendous value to the company since we started our relationship 17 months ago and we are exited about this fresh investment by The Blackstone Group into the company. We believe that at this stage of our growth we have an opportunity to create significant value by leveraging Blackstone’s outstanding experience and track record.” […]

Alok Retail in talks with PE firms to raise Rs 100 cr

Alok Retail India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Alok Industries, is planning a major expansion and is in talks with private equity firms to raise Rs 100-crore. “We are in talks with some PE firms and intend to raise Rs 100-crore soon. We will also be diluting some stake,” Alok Retail's Director Varun S Jiwrajka told reporters here today. The company's retail chain, H&A, will expand its network by 250 more stores by this year-end, he said. At present, there are 120 stores of H&A across the country. […]