Ikya Human Capital Solutions, the Bangalore-based HR services firm, is likely to be a target for global HR firms planning to set up shop in India. Some of the names floating around are companies like the Dutch USG Group, Spherion, Volt, Robert Half and Michael Page from the US, and Radia from Japan who are looking to enter India and it is likely that they may look at Ikya to start their operations. However, Ikya management denied that they will sell out. Ikya, which describes itself as a human capital solutions company that offers executive search, recruitment, staffing and learning, and development solutions, has now remodelled itself by offering more value-added services. Ikya in 2008 received a funding of $8 million from India Equity Partners (IEP), a private equity fund focused on India.   more »

Most of these families are looking at private equity funds as a way to earn fee-based income. When Infosys’ Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy announced his plans to float a venture fund, he joined a number of rich individuals and families who had traversed the same path earlier. Murthy’s earlier colleague at Infosys, N S Raghavan, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, Anil Ambani, the TVS Family, the Future Group, the Tatas and the Birlas, and a few others have either raised or are raising venture capital and private equity (PE) funds to the tune of close to $5 billion.   more »

After investing in four mid-income and low-cost housing projects in the past one year, Indiareit Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd, promoted by the Ajay Piramal group, wants to refocus its strategy on projects with potential for higher returns. Indiareit will now look at deploying most of its new Rs500 crore domestic fund announced in October in redevelopment and defunct textile mills projects. “There are some 25 mills coming up for development and we want to either bid independently or through a special purpose vehicle,” managing director and chief executive Ramesh Jogani said.   more »

After venturing into the private equity (PE) space earlier through a joint venture, financial services provider Religare is now planning to go solo. The company is planning to launch a $500-million (around Rs 2,350 crore) pan-Asian fund targeted at emerging economies. The fund would mainly invest in Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, and partly in India, sources close to the development said. Religare would shortly open representative offices in Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.   more »