World Bank's private sector financing arm International Finance Corporation will lend $8.5 million to Modern Dairies. The dairy company has entered into a 'Loan Agreement' with International Finance Corporation (IFC) for an External Commercial Borrowing of $8.5 million (about Rs 36 crore) subject to RBI approval, Modern Dairies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The dairy firm had announced that it has entered into a 'Subscription Agreement' and a 'Shareholder Agreement' with IFC, under which IFC would acquire 46.50 lakh shares of Modern Dairies for Rs 27.90 crore. Ernst & Young acted as financial advisor to Modern Dairies on the transaction.   more »

International Finance Corp (IFC), a World Bank arm, will invest $15 million in Mumbai-based pharmaceutical outsourcing company Hikal by way of equity participation. The equity will be offered on a preferential allotment basis to finance Hikal's expansion plans, the company said in a regulatory statement on Friday. Hikal specialises in crop protection products and specialty chemicals, and exports active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates to the US, Europe and Japan.   more »

New York-based Clearwater Capital Partners on Thursday said it has invested USD 50 million (nearly Rs 200 crore) in a power equipment park that would be developed by Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd at Vadala. Clearwater has so far invested USD 500 million in 39 companies across India, which it considers a safe investment destination due to its legal framework that is absent in China, company's Managing Partner Robert Petty said here. He hoped to invest in more companies after operationalising of Indo-US nuclear deal. He said Clearwater currently manages 1.7 billion USD in assets across four funds and boasts of 86 team members across eight locations, including New York, Beijing, Hanoi, Hongkong, Mumbai, Munich, Seoul and Singapore.   more »

Real estate firm Sobha Developers Ltd said on Wednesday it has sold 40 percent stake in an upcoming Bangalore project to Dubai's Pan Atlantic LLC for $10 million (433 million rupees). Sobha plans to develop a 1.7-million-sq ft residential township at the plot in south Bangalore. A senior company official said the present value of the land is estimated at 1.05 billion rupees, which has been used as the basis for the deal valuation. The company expects sales realisation of 6 billion rupees from the project, he said. Recent months have seen a spate of private equity deals in the Indian real estate sector, as developers, faced with a cash crunch on one hand and a slowdown in demand due to high interest rates on the other, try to unlock value in ongoing projects.   more »

Bumi is a specialist Geo Engineering Company serving the infrastructure sector. Bumi currently operates in India, Singapore, Dubai and Europe. Within India, it currently serves the power and urban infrastructure sub-sectors. Its projects involve several hydro-electric power plants and urban projects including the Delhi Metro. "This investment will help Bumi capitalise on the huge opportunity in Geo Engineering in India and abroad and consolidate its position as an Indian multi-national company in the Geo Engineering space," said Mr. B Jaikumar, Chairman & MD, Bumi Geo Engineering Pvt. Ltd. Bumi was founded in 2002 by Mr. Jaikumar, an engineer, who has several years' experience in the field of Geotechnical Engineering and worked extensively in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and India. Bumi currently employs more than 2,000 people and is headquartered in New Delhi.   more »

Private equity is ramping up presence in India’s out-of-home (OOH) advertising play. ICICI Ventures, Lehman and Goldman Sachs have lined up to pick up around 15-20% stake in Bangalore-based outdoor advertising firm Serve & Volley (S&V) for Rs 250 crore. Sources said Serve & Volley, with key assets like Delhi Metro, Kolkata Metro and Bangalore Municipal Corporation, plans to dilute 15-20% to raise Rs 300 crore. The 11-year-old company vies with sector leaders like Clear Channel, Laqshya and JCDecaux for a pie in the Rs 1,800-crore business, growing robustly at 10-15% in recent times. When contacted, S&V’s COO J Vishwanath declined to comment. Sources said advanced discussions were on with at least three funds for raising Rs 300 crore.   more »

Mauritius-based Frontline Strategy's India Industrial Growth (IIG) Fund has picked up a 26 per cent take in Shriram SEPL Composites, a joint venture of Shriram EPC and Strategic Engineering. This is the first investment from the SME-specific IIG Fund, a press release issued here today stated. Frontline Strategy is a Fabiani family office-anchored asset management company with prime focus on private equity investments. The company's Managing Partner Atim Kabra, said that "the investment in Shriram SEPL Composites is a continuation of Frontline Strategy's focus on investing in companies with global scope and capability."   more »

Axis Bank has picked up 2.5 per cent stake in the in Lavasa Corporation, a subsidiary of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), engaged in the development of a township in Lavasa near Pune, for Rs 250 crore. The deal values Lavasa at Rs 10,000 crore. Lavasa has issued convertible preference shares and convertible debentures to Axis bank in the transaction. At present, HCC holds 29 per cent stake in the project, while 16 per cent stake is held by Avantha Group (LM Thapar Group) and Venkateshwara Hatcheries holds 13 per cent. After the conversion of shares and debentures over the next five years, the equity stake of current investors will go down accordingly.   more »

First Choice, the used car arm of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) group, has received fund infusion to the tune of Rs 80 crore from Phi Advisors, a private equity firm. The funds will be used to finance the roll-out First Choice's chain of 300 owned and franchises outlets across the country. The company plans to have sales of about 100,000 units through the expansion in the next five years. Vinay Sanghi, CEO, FirstChoice Wheels, added, "We are targeting 100,000 vehicle sales per annum by 2013. With this funding, we will increase our reach to over 300 outlets. This will include 30 franchise super stores, each of which will have a stock of over 200 cars on display."   more »

Religare Finvest Limited (RFL), a wholly owned subsidiary of integrated finance services provider Religare Enterprises, has issued Compulsorily Convertible Debentures for Rs 100 crore to Standard Chartered Bank, Mauritius. These debentures would be converted into equity of RFL to the extent of 40 per cent at the end of 13 months and balance at the end of 25 months at a price to be fixed per Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) guidelines. These debentures will form part of the Tier II capital of the company and will strengthen the capital adequacy ratio of RFL, Religare said in a release. RFL is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) and is a member of the Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL). Religare Finvest is presently engaged in capital market lending, consumer finance and third party distribution through its personal financial services channel.   more »