Balaji Telefilms on Tuesday said it is ending a four-year old association with Star group under which an associate company of Rupert Murdoch-led global media conglomerate have been holding nearly 26 per cent stake in TV celebrity Ekta Kapoor-run entertainment content provider. However, six existing shows produced by Balaji and currently on air with 'Star Plus', would continue on terms mutually agreed upon by the two parties. As per an agreement reached between concerned parties and approved by Balaji Telefilms' board, the promoters of the Indian company would be allowed to buy back 25.99 per cent stake from Asian Broadcasting FZ-LLC (ABF), an associate of Star Group, within eight months, failing which these shares could be sold to any non-competing entity. Pursuant to the agreement, Balaji promoters are entitled to purchase the entire shareholding held by ABF in the company for an average price of Rs 190 per share, within a period not exceeding 240 days.   more »

Milestone Group, India's largest independent alternate assets fund house with more than Rs24bn under management, has launched India Build-Out Fund-I (IBF-I). Milestone plans to raise Rs6bn with a greenshoe option of Rs2bn for IBF-I. IBF-I is a five year close ended fund, open for subscription by domestic investors, with an option of two extensions of one year each. The minimum investment applicable for individual investors is Rs2.5mn and Rs10mn for institutional investors. The fund is targeting a return of 30% compounded, annualized IRR with a hurdle rate of 12% compounded, annualized IRR. Rajesh Singhal, earlier with Intel Capital, has joined Milestone Private Equity as Managing Partner.   more »

Tata Consultancy Services is close to acquiring Citigroup's captive backoffice unit in India for about $500-$550 million, the Economic Times said on Tuesday, citing a source close to the development. The announcement of a deal for Citigroup Global Services is likely to be made "within three weeks", the paper said. TCS, India's top software services exporter, has edged IBM in the race for the Citi unit and the deal would guarantee TCS business for the unit from Citigroup for five years, the paper said, citing this source. A spokesman for Citi in India declined comment on the report. A spokesman for TCS also declined comment, calling the report speculative.   more »

The ASK group has roped in Sunil Rohokale, MD and CEO of ICICI Home Finance, to head its real estate business. The group is in the process of setting up a real estate private equity fund and real estate advisory services. Mr Rohokale, who was part of the core team that started the mortgage business of ICICI Bank in 1999, is joining as executive director of ASK Investment Holdings which will roll out group’s foray into the real estate sector. The group is planning to launch its first real estate funds within the next three months and is looking to mobilise funds from both domestic as well as overseas investors, said Asit Koticha, chairman, ASK group. In the initial stage, the plan is to set up a Rs 1,000-crore fund and the target is to have a $1-billion fund in 3-4 years, Mr Koticha added.   more »

Berger Paints Ltd said it has acquired Poland's Bolix SA, an external insulation finishing system supplier, for an undisclosed sum from Advent International, a private equity group. Bolix also exports to countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and other European nations, and recorded a turnover of $45.5 million in 2007, the Indian firm said in a statement on Monday.   more »

In a significant move towards tapping funds for the cash-starved Indian realty market, Saffron Asset Advisors, a Mumbai-based realty fund manager, is planning to raise a $ 200-million (nearly Rs 840 crore), Shariah-compliant and India-specific property fund from international markets in the next 6 to 9 months. According to realty investment experts, this could be one of the first India-focused Shariah-compliant property funds. Shariah-compliant ventures follow Islamic principles and accordingly, abstain from investing in businesses such as alcohol, tobacco, pork products, conventional financial services (banking, insurance), weapons, defence, and entertainment. They do not invest in interest-paying instruments and instead may hold cash on a temporary basis. Saffron, which manages the real estate investments of NYSE Euronext-listed Yatra Capital, is planning to raise these funds from Middle-East, Malaysia, Indonesia, where Shariah funds are available for investment.   more »

Engineering firm Subhash Projects and Marketing Ltd and power equipment maker Emco Ltd have agreed to jointly buy 83% of Indonesian coal mine PT Bism for about Rs300 crore, joining Indian firms trying to secure fuel supplies by buying assets abroad. “We are jointly taking an 83% stake in PT Bism by acquiring shares from local owners. The deal will be closed in a month,” said Anil Sethi, chairman of Subhash Projects, adding the mine has reserves of about 105 million tonnes (mt). Subhash Projects will buy equity in the mine through its group company Subhash Kabini Power Corp. Ltd, which owns and operates the Kabini dam hydropower project in Karnataka.   more »

The recent amendments to qualified institutional placement (QIP) guidelines may boost private investments in public equity (PIPE) deals. After being in the downtrend in the first half of the year, deals in listed companies will revive, say experts, making it easier for the cash-starved firms to raise capital. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), after receiving comments from various parties, said QIPs should be based on the average price of the shares two weeks prior to the issue. The earlier pricing formula had made matters worse for investors as it required to take an average price of six months or 15 days, whichever is higher. In a bear market, where stocks fall sharply, the QIP price always exceeds the current market price and investors are not willing to pay a premium for shares, which are available at rock-bottom prices.   more »

In India, where individual angel investors are few, firms such as Morpheus and Opdrage, offer start-ups mentorship and aim to create a pipeline of fundable start-ups for investors. With angel firms such as Accel India Venture Fund (formerly Erasmic Venture Fund) and Seedfund raising larger second funds, the firms expect the gap between starting out and getting funded will widen—increasing the demand for their services. “There is enough seed money available in India waiting for quality start-ups,” says Kris Nair, founder, Opdrage Ventures. “We want to be an entrepreneur cooperative.” Nair, a founding member of Satellier Inc., a Sequoia Capital-funded building information modelling start-up, set up Opdrage six months ago, mixing mentoring with investment banking deals. The firm is working with six ventures, including software application company APIster, furniture design store Cubicle One and a modelling start-up that is yet to be named.   more »

With more than one-third of market capitalization of India’s stocks eroding since January, the time would seem ideal for the private equity, or PE, business. Valuation expectations at both listed and private firms are more realistic today than ever, prompting large Indian business groups and professional PE managers to set up new funds. But a set of PE wannabes with backgrounds ranging from real estate to retail have put on hold their ambitions to enter the investment fund business. In the current market situation, raising money from investors either in India or overseas, who together contribute around two-thirds of the typical fund’s corpus, has turned difficult for these firms, experts say. The promoters of New-Delhi based Vishal Retail Ltd, which runs around 90 hypermarkets (large-size multi-product stores) and speciality stores across the country, have postponed their plans of floating a PE fund by at least a year.   more »

Media & Entertainment Group, UTV Software Communications, on Monday said it has acquired 80 per cent stake in US-Based online game publishing Group, True Games Interactive for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition, which has been executed through the group's gaming arm, UTV Interactive, is in line with the business strategy of achieving growth through the inorganic route, the company said in a press statement issued here. The company had recently acquired UK-based console developer, Ignition Entertainment and India-based mobile gaming company, Indiagames Limited.   more »

Largest private lender ICICI Bank is planning to set up a $200 million (Rs.8 billion) private equity fund exclusively for the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, a top company official said here Monday. "We are planning to set up an approximately $200 million corpus private equity fund within the next five to six months exclusively for the SME sector," said Sanjiv Sherawat, head of business banking, ICICI Bank Ltd, on the sidelines of a seminar on Alternative Avenues to SME Financing organised by industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Till date, ICICI Ventures has been the PE investment arm of ICICI Bank. Now the bank would start PE investment by itself. The focus of the company would be mainly on pharmaceuticals, jewellery, textile and capital goods.   more »

ITC Ltd. said ITC Infotech India Ltd's U.S.-based wholly-owned unit ITC Infotech (USA), Inc. has acquired Pyxis Solutions, Llc., a New York limited liability company. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Accordingly, Pyxis has also become a wholly-owned unit of the company, ITC said in a filing with Bombay Stock Exchange. (Trading Markets)   more »