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 »