IDFC Private Equity Co., India's largest infrastructure-focused private equity firm, plans to more than triple its assets for investments in roads, ports and power in the world's second-fastest-growing major economy. IDFC Private Equity will secure $700 million from overseas investors for a third fund soon, Luis Miranda, chief executive officer, said in an interview in Mumbai. He expects to raise another fund over the next three months for a combined $2 billion in assets. 3i Group Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley are increasing alternative investments in India, where private equity firms raised seven times more than for China in the first quarter. Miranda estimates between $15 billion and $20 billion is being raised as the government woos funds to build the airports and power stations needed to sustain economic growth. IDFC has made investments through two private equity funds, the India Development Fund and the IDFC Private Equity Fund II, that collectively manage $630 million. Miranda and his team have screened 900 proposals since starting IDFC's private equity arm in 2002, he said. The group has invested in just 25, he said.   more »

Citi Venture had to offload its stake in the brokerage due to regulatory issues. Baring Asia has picked up 12 per cent stake in Sharekhan at a price that values the retail brokerage at Rs 1,700 crore, which is more than double its last year's valuation of Rs 825 crore, when the promoters Morakhias were looking at exiting their investments in the company. The company has acquired 10 per cent stake from Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI), the private equity arm of Citigroup in India Deholdings (CVCI's intermediary vehicle registered in Mauritius) and 2 per cent through a convertible instrument from Sharekhan. Last year, in one of the hotly-contested deals, CVCI had picked up a majority stake in Sharekhan. However, due to regulatory issues, it was required to bring down its holding in the intermediary vehicle to below 50 per cent within six months.   more »

The UK-listed private equity group, 3i, has lined up a $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) equity investment in India for the current financial year. The group is exploring deals in infrastructure, oil and gas, healthcare and power, among others. The company, which till now was buying minority stakes in Indian companies, is now planning buyouts for the first time in the country since 2005. "We may conclude seven to eight deals in this financial year with a minimum investment of $500 million. We will increase the investments if the right opportunity comes up. About half of the investments planned will go to the infrastructure sector," said Anil Ahuja, the managing director and co-head of 3i's Asian operations. For the buyouts, 3i plans to team up with four banks, including two foreign banks, to raise debt. The banks are likely to finance two-thirds of the investments in 3i's buyouts, Ahuja told Business Standard.   more »

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated bank in the Middle East, announced today the launch of the first investment fund in Indian Private Equity with unique investment features. Salah Al Fulaij, Chief Executive Officer of NBK Capital, said that the Fund will offer Private Banking clients the opportunity to privately invest in Indian companies through a group of the best investment managers on a local and international level. Al Fulaij said that the Fund follows two main strategies, which is to invest in high quality private equity funds and invest in mature and attractive private equity funds that are listed on a secondary market. Both strategies offer investment opportunities in companies with attractive valuations, in addition to company and investment manager diversification.   more »

India-based Gaja Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has launched Gaja Capital Fund I, which will take equity and equity-related investments in high growth companies whose principal business is in India. Gaja Capital Fund I has a target size of US$200 million and will invest between US$5 million to US$15 million across 10 to 15 deals in the services and manufacturing sectors. The International Finance Corp. is committing up to US$15 million in the fund.(Fin Alternatives)   more »

U.S.-based venture capital firm Battery Ventures plans to invest upto $100 million in Indian companies over the next 3-5 years, a top official said on Friday. The company manages eight funds worth $3 billion and has a presence in United States, Israel and now India. It will invest mainly in technology, media and financial companies, General Partner Mark Sherman told Reuters. Battery will aim for an average return of around 40 percent from each investment, which would be anywhere between $2 million and $50 million, he said.   more »

UTI Asset Management Company has raised USD 600 million for private equity investments in infrastructure companies and projects across the country, reports Economic Times. The AMC has raised the money through its subsidiary UTI International, in association with Shinsei Bank and HSH Nordbank. The investments will be made in companies across the market cap spectrum, but the main focus will be on projects like ports and airports. (My Iris)   more »

Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment is setting up a multi-million dollar fund in Asia for the production of feature films. The fund aims to raise $55-$73 million. Hyde Park's Asia offices will be based in Singapore. Hyde Park will produce or co-produce three to four films per year, which will include a mixture of English and local or regional language films to target international as well as national or regional market. The company aims to establish long-term producing partnerships with local production houses in India, Japan and South Korea. The fund has positive support from Singapore's Media Development Authority, though it is not going to put in money behind the fund. Singapore's Media Development Authority CEO Christopher Chia said that he expects the production funding to raise Singapore's position as a global media city.   more »

SIDBI Venture Capital (SVCL), which manages two venture capital funds with total corpus of Rs 600 crore, is gearing up for more investments. Speaking to FE on the sidelines of announcement of his company’s investing Rs 30 crore in Mumbai based Centaur Group, Ajay Kapur, CEO, SVCL, said that “We are in harvesting mode nowadays and there was no chance of exiting from any of the funds we have invested at this moment”. The only fund which was exited by the SVCL in recent past was the NCR-based retail chain retail chain, Sabka Bazar which is promoted by a Muradabad-based firm. The SVCL, which had invested a sum of Rs 6 crore in the firm, sold off its entire stake to Spinach Group. Kapur said, “Most of the firms we have invested in our young and performing well, so we would like to wait for 3-4 years before deciding to exit. Out of our commitments to invest Rs 500 crore as SME Growth Fund within a period of three years, we have already invested Rs 375 crore so far in sectors like auto, textile, pharma, speciality chemical, industrial adhesive and others.”   more »

Sidbi Venture capital (SVCL), the venture capital arm of Small Industries Dvelopment Bank of India, is planning its third fund this year, which will focus on early and growth stage companies across various verticals, a top official said. "We will come up with more funds in the current fiscal year. The focus is set equally across different segments that have growth potential," SVCL's Chief Executive Officer, Ajay Kumar Kapur, told reporters here. However, he declined to divulge further details about the fund. SVCL had launched its first fund--National Fund for software and IT-- with a corpus of Rs 100 crore, Kapur said, adding, "the fund has already been deployed fully in various firms". The second fund, which is an SME Growth Fund, has a corpus of Rs 500 crore and had attracted investments from nine parties including Sidbi.   more »