Automotive lighting manufacturer Neolite Industries on Sunday announced that Austria-based ZKW Zizala Lichtsysteme GmbH will pick up a 26 per cent stake in the company for an undisclosed amount. "Neolite Industries has inked a joint venture agreement with ZKW- Zizala Lichtsysteme GmbH. ZKW will be taking an initial stake of 26 per cent in existing business of Neolite group, with an option to increase its stake up to 40 per cent," a company release said. Under the agreement, all existing automotive lights operations of Neolite would be integrated with the proposed JV company and the existing company would be rechristened 'Neolite ZKW Lightings Pvt Ltd', it added.   more »

Bharti Airtel Ltd said Temasek Holdings, The Investment Corporation of Dubai, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, AIF Capital, Citigroup and India Equity Partners have agreed to invest 1 bln usd in Bharti Infratel, a wholly-owned unit.Temasek will be the largest investor. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the telecom services provider said the enterprise value of Bharti Infratel has been agreed to be in the range of 10-12.5 bln usd. Bharti Infratel holds about 42 pct in Indus Towers, the recently announced joint venture between Bharti, Vodafone and Idea Cellular Ltd. ( Hemscott)   more »

India's largest real estate firm DLF is now all set to raise another $400 million through private equity route to fund its long-term investment plans. As per the deal, financial services major Merrill Lynch will get 20 per cent assured return and the debt will later get converted into equity. Merrill Lynch could pick up 49 per cent in 3-5 townships. The decision on the deal will be taken in mid-January after DLF’s real estate investment trust (REIT) listing is complete. Though the management continues to remain very tight lipped about the deal they are not denying it either. "DLF has a large number of residential, integrated townships and commercial projects in the pipeline. While the company is looking to list its commercial properties in a REIT these PE deals in residential projects are not only about raising funds," said Ramesh Sanka, CFO, DLF.   more »

VSNL has sold a 10 per cent stake in VSNL Lanka Ltd, its wholly owned subsidiary in Sri Lanka. The Tata group company has sold the stake to Sunshine Holdings, a Sri Lankan conglomerate, for about Rs 2.72 crore. Sunshine Holdings has interests in pharmaceuticals, travel & tourism, tea and rubber cultivation. It also manages portfolio investments. The Sri Lankan firm has bought 5.17 lakh shares, which accounts for 10 per cent of the paid-up capital of VSNL Lanka. It has an option to acquire an additional 5 per cent of VSNL Lanka’s share capital in the next 12 months at fair market value. “The partnership with Sunshine Holdings will enable VSNL Lanka to capitalise on the partner's knowledge of the Sri Lankan market. This is also our attempt to unlock value for our shareholders in an appropriate manner,” said Rajiv Dhar, CFO of VSNL.   more »

Japan's Itoh Oil Chemicals (ITOH) is picking up a 4.8% stake in Mumbai-based Jayant Agro Organics (JAOL), a leader in castor oil and castor derivatives. India produces nearly 70% of the world consumption of castor oil. Jayant Agro, an Udeshi group company, produces castor oil worth Rs 450 crore a year. Castor oil is used in industrial manufacturing the world-over as a value addition material. The board of Jayant Agro last week approved the issue of 6 lakh shares (4.76%) to the Japanese company for Rs 105 each. The total investment by ITOH, a leading manufacturer of castor oil derivatives in Japan, would amount to over Rs 6.3 crore. JAOL also plans to allot 1.3 million warrants to promoters at Rs 105. The board has also approved the issue of overseas convertible bonds for up to $20 million. The infusion of funds will be used for further expansion and setting up of new projects for higher value added derivatives. The company has already undertaken expansion of its crushing unit by 100% and its derivative unit by 25%.   more »

Eyes Rs 2,000 cr business from Nashik by March 2011. As part of its expansion plan to strengthen its base in north Maharashtra, Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd (SCBL), the largest multi-state co-operative bank in the country with a business turnover of Rs 17,000 crore, has acquired the financially troubled city-based Nashik People’s Co-operative Bank (NPCB) with 14 branches. The bank had already got the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With the acquisition of NPCB, the total number of branches of the Saraswat Bank has gone up to 141. Saraswat’s plans of increasing business in Nashik got a boost on the very first day of the NPCB’s acquisition as it got the largest deposit of Rs 14 crore from a local businessman. NPCB, which was founded in 1923, had deposits of Rs 124 crore, with 1,30,478 deposit accounts. It was in the red and its loss stood at Rs 31 crore.   more »

Future Capital, the financial arm of Future Group, has picked up an estimated 28% stake in Sankalp Retail Value Stores, a franchisee of the US-based discount format, My Dollarstore. The discount format will now be a part of Pantaloon Retail’s larger strategy to set up imported bazaar concessions as a shop-in-shop concept in its hypermarket, Big Bazaar. Sources said a team of Big Bazaar is working on setting up the new format which will offer a huge array of imported products at reasonable rates. Anil Biyani, Kishore Biyani’s younger brother, is likely to be in charge of imported bazaar, sources said. The format is also expected to help scale up the profit margins in Big Bazaar. Sameer Sain, CEO of Future Capital, was unavailable for comment. Rakesh Biyani, CEO of Pantaloon Retail, said, “We are working closely with My Dollarstore to create a concept for imported products in Big Bazaar outlets. This is an area where we see a huge consumption opportunity.”   more »

Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Entertainment is planning to sell around 5% stake to raise money for its large plans in movie production, social networking and the movie rental business. People close to the development said that Reliance Entertainment is in talks with some global funds and that a deal is likely to be agreed upon soon. The firm is insisting upon a valuation of close to Rs 6,000 crore, justifying the number on the scale, the business model and the potential in each segments. A Reliance Entertainment spokesperson was not available for comment. The move comes as a booming economy and rising affluence drive demand for entertainment. Movie companies have found it far more easier to sell their films, thanks to the insatiable appetite of NRI population across the world and the growth of multiplexes in the country. The popularity of Bollywood and the recent spate of hits combined with a drastic fall in prices of DVDs and VCDs have given a boost to the rental business.   more »

Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Capital on Saturday said its subsidiary has invested in US-based telecom solution provider Stoke Inc. However, financial details of the investment made by ADAG's corporate venture arm Reliance Technology Ventures (RTVL) was not disclosed. The US-based firm enables telecom operators to solve security services problems across different broadband access. The co-investors along with RTVL in the deal include existing investors such as US-based venture capital funds Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Integral Capital Partners and DAG Ventures, a company release said.   more »

Wipro Ltd , India's third-biggest software exporter, is expected to bid for France's Capgemini by the end of January in a deal valuing the French firm at up to $7 billion, the Hindustan Times said on Monday, citing unnamed sources. Citigroup and HSBC have been in discussions to finalise a plan before the year-end holidays, it said, citing investment banking sources. "Details about leveraged buyout financing and other options were discussed," it quoted a banker close to the deal as saying.   more »