http://www.indiape.com/blog INDIA PRIVATE EQUITY - Private Equity information for investors looking at Indian Private Equity space en-us Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:23:22 +0530 Main Page Blogware www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776737.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776737.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:50:26 +0530 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. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776717.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776717.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:24:19 +0530 Murugappa Group company, Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI) has entered into an agreement with Foskor (Proprietary) Ltd, South Africa to acquire 51 per cent equity stake in Foskor Zirconia (Proprietary) Ltd, Phalaborwa, South Africa, (FZL) for an undisclosed some. With a 4200 tonnes per annum installed capacity for Zirconia (mineral), FZL is the third largest producer of Zirconia in the world. Fumed silica is also produced as a by-product of the furnace operation. This investment will be a good platform for CUMI to address the growing minerals business. The sales of FZL in 2007-08 were $ 16 million. This will be reflected in CUMI balance sheet starting from the current year. CUMI on a standalone basis has a total revenue of Rs 600 crore. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776713.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776713.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:22:19 +0530 Private equity firm ICICI Venture, a unit of ICICI Bank , said on Friday it had reached a deal with Tishman Speyer to sell its stake in their Indian real estate joint venture to the U.S. firm. ICICI Venture said it will sell its 50 percent stake in TSI Ventures India Pvt Ltd, a real estate joint venture company, to Tishman Speyer, which will now become the sole owner. Tishman Speyer and ICICI Venture would remain equity partners in TSI's three current projects, the Indian firm said in a statement that did not give financial details of the transaction. "Both companies remain open to investing together in Indian real estate in the future," it said. (Reuters) Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776708.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776708.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:17:58 +0530 Indian aviation could soon witness the next round of consolidation as Kingfisher Airline's 's move to acquire a stake in low-cost carrier SpiceJet has entered its final phase. UB Group chief Vijay Mallya is holding talks with SpiceJet's main promoter Bhupendra Kansagra in Europe for buying his 12.91% stake, along with a 13.42% stake held by Dubai-based investment firm Istithmar PJSC. Mallya, who is learnt to be looking for a total of 26%, stake, may have to shell out between Rs 145 to Rs 155 crore for the deal. At current stock prices, the SpiceJet's valuation is over Rs 600 crore. Its share closed at Rs 25 on Friday. SpiceJet is learnt to be losing up to Rs 70 lakh daily on account of high oil prices and looking for fresh infusion of funds to survive. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776707.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776707.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:16:14 +0530 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. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776702.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776702.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:14:25 +0530 Aviation entrepreneur G.R. Gopinath, founder of the country’s largest low-fare airline Simplifly Deccan (erstwhile Air Deccan), has mandated Mumbai-based investment banking firm Edelweiss Capital Ltd to seek out private-equity investors for his new cargo airline. Gopinath, who owns 100% of Deccan Cargo, plans to dilute up to 26% of his stake and eventually list the company to provide private equity investors an exit opportunity, said a person familiar with the development, asking not to be identified. Deccan Cargo plans to invest $200 million (about Rs863 crore) over the next three years, the person said. Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s second largest software exporter, has won the mandate to design and implement technology that will allow Deccan Cargo to offer online “track and trace” facilities for customers, and help cut costs, this person also added. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776700.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/5/3776700.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:12:32 +0530 Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL) has picked up equity in SMC Group companies, which holds SMC Global Securities Ltd and SAM Global Securities Ltd under its banner. Founded in 1990 by Subhash Chand Aggarwal and Mahesh Chand Gupta, SMC is a full financial services firm catering to all classes of investors. SMC offers services in brokerage, arbitrage, merchant banking, wealth management and is also involved in the distribution of retail products, such as insurance, IPO and mutual funds. It also offers special advisory services to HNIs and corporates. With a 2% stake in SMC Group, BCCL would now be invested in one of the largest retail investor networks in the country, serving over 450,000 investors, having added 150,000 customers last fiscal. The SMC Group has a network of more than 1,350 offices across 350 locations in India and an overseas office in Dubai. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775332.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775332.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:06:23 +0530 National Aluminium Company Ltd., or Nalco, a public sector enterprise of Government of India and the second largest aluminium producer, is likely to acquire 51% stake in Tajik Aluminium Company or Talco, a primary aluminium producer owned by the Tajikistan Government, for undisclosed sum, according to media reports. Sources said in a statement that NALCO has approached the Government with the proposal and awaits its approval. Sources added that the matter is also under consideration of the Tajik Government. Once the deal materializes, it will see the combine emerging as one of the world's top-three aluminium producers with an output of 8,00,000 metric tonnes or MT, the release stated. Talco located in Tursunzoda, a city in western Tajikistan, runs the largest aluminium manufacturing plant in central Asia and is one of Tajikistan's largest enterprises. In 2006, Talco produced 416,000 MT of aluminium. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775329.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775329.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:01:35 +0530 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. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775326.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775326.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:59:38 +0530 Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., is close to finalizing a share-swap deal with New Delhi-based low cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd., the Business Standard newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. SpiceJet's stockholders are expected to get one share of the merged entity for every three shares owned, the newspaper said today. SpiceJet, which planned to raise $100 million for fleet expansion, is yet to get investors, the newspaper said. Kingfisher Airlines, controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, operates India's biggest budget carrier Deccan Aviation Ltd. (Bloomberg) Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775323.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775323.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:55:58 +0530 With a bearish phase prevailing over stock markets, valuations of private equity (PE) investments have taken a beating. Certain PEs which had overestimated companies to enter at high values have seen a decline in valuations due to volatile capital market conditions. A compilation of how PE investments of 2007 compare with current mark-to-market (MTM) values shows that about 58 percent of the PIPE (private investments in public enterprises) deals of 2007 are in the negative territory. According to the research undertaken by SMC Investment Solutions & Services (May 2008), the only ray of hope is that overall till-date-returns on PIPE deals of 2007 (on volume basis) are still in the positive, although at a margal 8.3 percent, despite rough market conditions of 2008. However, wealth creation is highly imbalanced in different sectors, with Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), telecom and retail sectors ducking the volatile capital market conditions. On the other hand, sectors like IT & ITeS, infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences, media, manufacturing and real estate are in the negative zone. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775320.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775320.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:52:35 +0530 UK-based Eredene Capital has picked up a 50% stake in Apeejay Infra-Logistics (AILPL), the infrastructure arm of Kolkata-based Apeejay Surrendra Group. The group is setting up a state-of-the-art logistics park in Haldia in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district. Eredene Capital has invested Sterling Pound 5.25 million or Rs 42 crore to pick up the 50% AILPL stake. This was confirmed by Abdul Wahid, the new chief executive officer of AILPL. Eredene Capital invests in infrastructure projects and in real estate development in India. It focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on logistics, distribution of warehouses and port services. Mr Wahid, who will be responsible for all infrastructure related activities of the Apeejay Surrendra group, has over 17 years of experience as a senior supply chain management professional. Speaking to ET, Mr Wahid said: “The Eredene group has picked up a 50% stake in APILPL at an investment of Rs 42 crore. The Eredene group has a crack team with core experience in real estate, infrastructure, ports and logistics and we see them as natural partners in the development project at Haldia. We look forward to working with them in this and other future projects as well.” Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775317.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775317.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:46:38 +0530 In a sector that’s largely unorganised and dominated by family-run set ups, private equity and outdoor media owners are becoming strange bedfellows. But there’s also a catch — currently, most of the funding is going into newer players with interests beyond conventional media. Recently, Warburg Pincus invested about Rs 276 crore in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising company Laqshya Media. UTI Venture Funds, which is largely credited with identifying the sector, also invested an additional Rs 25 crore in the company taking the total investment to Rs 301 crore. The company had picked up a 15% stake in Laqshya for Rs 45 crore in October 2006. Earlier this year, another OOH media firm received funding to the tune of $50 million from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Media reports now suggest that ICICI Ventures, Lehman and Goldman Sachs have lined up plans to pick up around 15-20% stake in the Bangalore-based OOH advertising firm Serve & Volley for Rs 250 crore. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775305.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775305.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:39:39 +0530 The latest industry buzz is that a deal between Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) and South Africa’s MTN may be announced on Sunday, July 6, which is the death anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani. The speculation has gained currency because, in 2006, Anil Ambani had announced his interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Hutch Essar on the birth anniversary of his father. The 45-day exclusivity period for talks between RCom and MTN ends on July 8, and therefore, an announcement (either yes or no) could be announced anytime by then, sources pointed out. An extension of the exclusivity period, by as much as 30 days, cannot be ruled out either. Following the feud between the Ambani brothers, the deal structure is believed to have been changed between MTN and RCom, as first reported in this newspaper on June 27. Instead of a proposed merger between the two, RCom is now looking at acquiring below 35% stake in MTN, sources said. RCom may tie up with investors, including sovereign wealth funds, to buy a stake in MTN. Main Page Rumoured Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775302.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775302.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:37:07 +0530 Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCOM) is in talks to raise up to $5-6 billion from banks to part-finance its planned acquisition of the South African telco MTN. RCOM may pledge the shares of MTN to raise the funds and also provide some sort of guarantee to the lenders. Sources in the know said Deustsche Bank, HSBC and Barclays, among others, are putting in place short-term financing for RCOM to finance the deal. A few Indian banks and a host of European banks have also offered an underlying commitment to lend money for the transaction. RCOM will have to repay this debt in a year or so by raising long-term funding. RCOM’s 45-day exclusivity period (during which MTN could not consider any alternative partner) ends on July 7. It’s unlikely that the transaction would be completed by then, said a source in the know. Instead, the exclusivity period might be extended. The entire transaction is expected to be routed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). In addition to RCOM, other partners could also pick up equity in this SPV. RCOM is learnt to have been in talks with a Middle East-based sovereign wealth fund and a couple of private equity players to offer stake in the SPV. It is learnt that the private equity funds are not-so-keen to participate in the SPV, while the sovereign fund is interested in it. RCOM will likely hold a majority equity stake in the SPV. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775295.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/4/3775295.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:30:33 +0530 Non-voice BPO firm Tricom India will pay $2.25 million for acquiring 100 per cent stake in the US-based Pacific Data Centers Inc (PDC). The new acquisition will enhance Tricom`s capabilities to address the needs of clients whose data cannot be sent offshore and also expand its service portfolio in other business domains, according to Mr Chetan Kothari, Managing Director of Tricom India Ltd. Established in 1976, PDC provides services such as data entry, data conversion, imaging, OCR, medical billing, claims processing, printing, mailing, and lock box services. Its customers include Government agencies, hospitals, insurance companies, direct mailers, banks, utilities and management organisations. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773730.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773730.html Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:51:30 +0530 Auto ancillary maker Amtek Auto is reported to be making a bid to acquire German castings company KSM Castingsfor around 250 million euros (around Rs1,700 crore). Apart from Amtek Auto two global private equity players are also reported to be in the race to acquire the firm for which the bidding has entered the second round. The Frankfurt-based KSM Castings supplies light metal casting products for the automotive industry. The proposed acquisition is part of Amtek's strategy to boost its revenues from overseas operations. If the deal is successful, it will be one of the largest acquisitions by an Indian company in the automotive forging category. KSM Castings' clientele includes Volkswagen Group, Daimler, BMW, Ford, Porsche, Bosch, and Mann & Hummel. The German company reported sales of e355 million last year. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773712.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773712.html Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:34:17 +0530 TVS Shriram Growth Fund, a private equity fund floated by the TVS Group family and the Shriram Transport Finance group, has successfully raised Rs 500 crore. The Fund plans to invest the raised amount in the range of Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore in mid-cap companies with revenues of Rs 30 crore to Rs 250 crore. The fund intends to target investments in sectors such as food and agro, media and entertainment and privatized education. The fund would be looking at return of 20 per cent to 25 per cent after four years. The company has appointed Gopal Srinivasan, as Chairman of TVS Capital Funds. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773710.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773710.html Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:32:52 +0530 After acquiring a stake in Air Deccan last year, UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya is all set to expand his wings further in the domestic aviation space. According to sources, now Mallya is eyeing a stake in low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet. Last year when Kingfisher Airlines took a 26% stake in Air Deccan, Mallya had evinced interest in picking up a stake in SpiceJet but things did not move forward. "I am interested in SpiceJet but I am not a predator," he had said then. Kingfisher is now learnt to be eyeing a part of either the 12.9% stake held by SpiceJet's promoter, UK-based NRI Bhupendra Kansagra or the 13.4% stake held by Dubai-based investment firm Istithmar PJSC. Kansagra was under a lock-in period, which barred him from selling any part of his stake in SpiceJet. The lock-in period ended a few months ago. Kingfisher's executive vice president Hitesh Patel said he would not comment on the issue, but added: "I can see additional consolidation in the industry in next 12 to 18 months. All these airlines won't be hanging around that long. If as predicted, crude hits $178 to a barrel in September, it will kill some players.... The access to funds of Kingfisher is strong and the backing of UB Group is a strong plus." Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773700.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/3/3773700.html Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:18:57 +0530 Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCOM) may be examining alternative structures to bring about its proposed mega-combination with MTN. RCOM, possibly in partnership with a sovereign wealth fund based in the Middle East, may directly buy a large equity stake in MTN, emerging as the single largest shareholder. This is to avoid legal disputes that may arise from Reliance Industries’ (RIL) claims of right of first refusal (RoFR) if RCOM were to enter into a reverse merger with MTN. Under the reverse merger route, MTN would have made an open offer for RCOM followed by a share swap between Reliance ADAG, promoters of RCOM, and MTN. ADAG would then have emerged as the single largest shareholder of MTN while RCOM will become subsidiary of MTN. That plan has not been junked, but sources close to the development said RCOM is also examining the option of directly acquiring a 40% stake in MTN. A Middle East-based sovereign wealth fund could join hands with RCOM for the acquisition of the controlling stake in MTN. The name of the fund could not be ascertained. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772417.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772417.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:32:22 +0530 Jacob Ballas Capital India, a non-banking finance company focused on private equity advisory services, is planning a $500 million India-focused private equity fund. The NBFC, founded in 1995, currently serves as advisor to three India-focused PE funds in which New York Life is an active participant. Jacob Ballas was founded by Rajan Jetley, who was earlier the CEO of Air India and currently manages $445 million across three funds. When contacted, Srinivas Chidambaram, Managing Director of Jacob Ballas Capital India, said he cannot confirm, deny or comment on this as they are in process of raising the fund. The funds have been focusing on infrastructure, IT/BPO, textiles, pharmaceuticals and the financial services sector in India. The move by Jacob Ballas to raise a $500 million fund is backed by a strong pipeline of deals available in the Indian market given the losing lustre of the public markets. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772411.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772411.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:24:14 +0530 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. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772399.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772399.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:10:54 +0530 Umicore has reached an agreement to acquire Anandeya Zinc Oxides Private Limited, located in Goa, India. The company will be fully integrated into Umicore's Zinc Chemicals business and will support the business unit's strategy of growing its position as one of the worldwide leaders in the manufacturing of high-purity, specialty zinc compounds. The acquisition and the intended additional investment amount to some USD 10 million. The intended investment involves expanding Anandeya's current zinc oxides product range to different zinc chemicals in order to provide broader support for the growth of Umicore's global customers in the expanding markets of India and the Middle East. The acquired site has spare land for the expansion of zinc chemicals production or for the incorporation of other industrial activities. The experience gained in the transaction will also benefit Umicore in its pursuit of future growth possibilities in India. The transaction is subject to certain standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed by early August. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772398.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/2/3772398.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:09:29 +0530 NYSE Euronext (NYX) has announced that it has completed through its affiliate Euronext NV, the acquisition of 5 percent equity in the multi commodity exchange (MCX), India's largest commodity exchange group. The 5 percent equity investment is the maximum equity interest permitted by a single foreign investor in exchanges under current Indian law. "Asia pacific is a strong, growing region for global capital markets and we formalize our intent to be a part of that growth by investing in and working with MCX" said Lawrence Leibowitz, NYSE Euronext's group executive vice president. Speaking on the occasion MD and CEO, MCX, Joseph Massey said, "The strategic investment by NYSE in MCX takes our relationship to the next level and we see it as strategically important in the global context." Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771225.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771225.html Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:23:25 +0530 OnMobile, India's leading and pioneering Telecom Value Added Services (VAS) provider today announced that it has acquired 100% of the leading European Speech Recognition company, telisma. The addition of telisma’s standards compliant speech recognition products & expertise will enable OnMobile to accelerate its penetration into fast growing emerging markets by developing new speech recognition language models. This technology enables quick and easy access to mobile applications and content and also strengthens OnMobile’s mobile applications product suite. Telisma was created in August 2000 as a spin-off from France Telecom’s Research and Development Laboratory funded by leading European venture capital firms. Telisma has a team of around 40 employees including 9 PhDs & 18 engineers and has its operations in Europe & India. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771221.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771221.html Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:18:20 +0530 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. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771215.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/1/3771215.html Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:14:08 +0530 Tyson Foods has purchased 51% ownership of Godrej Foods, a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet, an Indian agribusiness company. The joint venture between Godrej Agrovet and Tyson will be called Godrej Tyson Foods Annual sales for the venture are initially expected to be in the range of $50 million and are anticipated to grow as operations are expanded. The venture includes one chicken processing facility in Mumbai, in western India, and another in Bangalore, in the southern part of the country. The two plants have a combined production capacity of 60,000 birds per day and have approximately 1,000 contract production workers. The Godrej processing operations are supplied by six contracted hatcheries and a network of contracted broiler operations, which produce live birds to the company's specifications. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3769297.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3769297.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:02:19 +0530 In keeping with its core business of venture capital funding, IFCI Venture Capital Funds Limited (IVCF), a subsidiary of IFCI on Monday announced the launch of three new funds aimed at the emerging sectors of the economy. The funds being launched are India Automotive Component Manufacturers Private Equity Fund with a target corpus of Euro 60 million or Rs 396 crores. It will be dedicated to investments mainly in Indian automotive component companies and other related sectors. The next one is the India Enterprise Development Fund (IEDF), with a target corpus of Rs 250 crores to invest in knowledge based projects in key sectors of the Indian economy with outstanding growth prospects. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3768874.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3768874.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:34:41 +0530 Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc is close to buying Malaysia's Maxis Communications' 74 percent stake in Indian mobile operator Aircel, the Economic Times said on Monday, citing unnamed sources. AT&T, which is seeking to re-enter the world's fastest-growing cellular market, has valued Aircel at $5-$6 billion, the newspaper said. "At the upper end, the ticket price includes a control premium of around 30 percent, which AT&T is expected to pay for taking management control," it said. The paper said Maxis CEO Sandip Das declined comment. Maxis, Malaysia's top mobile services firm, holds 74 percent in Aircel, the maximum permissible by Indian law, with the remainder held by India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprises . Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3768867.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/30/3768867.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:30:59 +0530 Canaan Partners, the 20-year-old global venture capital (VC) fund with $3 billion under management, will channel a bigger share of money from its latest global fund towards investments in the country. The investments would be mainly directed towards technology ventures, Canaan Partners India MD Alok Mittal said. The VC firm recently raised a $650-million global fund and about a quarter of it will be dedicated for investments in India and Israel. It is estimated that around $150 million will be invested in India over the next three years. Around 5-10% of its previous $450 million was dedicated to India and Israel. Canaan has invested in five companies in India—e4e, Bharatmatrimony, Cellcast, iYogi and TechTribe—since foraying into the country in 2000. Main Page India PE Fund News