http://www.indiape.com/blog INDIA PRIVATE EQUITY - Private Equity information for investors looking at Indian Private Equity space en-us Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:11:19 +0530 Main Page Blogware www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/14/4480242.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/14/4480242.html Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:41:01 +0530 Private equity group India Agri Business Fund will invest $10 million (about Rs 48 crore) to pick up around 22 per cent stake in Gautam Thapar-promoted Avantha Group's food division Global Green Company. The fund will invest another $40 million this year in food and agri sector, said Rajesh Srivastava, chairman & Managing director, Rabo Equity Advisors, the sponsor of the $100 million fund. The investment in Global Green Company will be used to expand the company's domestic business, which is primarily into exports market currently, he said. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/14/4480240.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/14/4480240.html Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:38:38 +0530 The government is considering up to 10 per cent equity dilution in the state-owned aluminium producer Nalco, which may fetch the exchequer about Rs 2,200 crore. "The Ministry of Mines will have to take a decision. We have said that they could consider 5-10 per cent stake sale," Disinvestment Department Joint Secretary Sidhartha Pradhan told PTI. At present, the government holds about 87.15 per cent equity in the navratna company while the rest has been made public. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479418.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479418.html Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:06:21 +0530 India-focused private equity firm Nine Rivers Capital has taken a $7m stake in Global AgriSystem Private (GAPL), a New Delhi agribusiness supply chain specialist. The promoters of GAPL also participated in the funding round to strengthen the company’s capital base. GAPL provides procurement, storage, processing and distribution services for the fresh fruits and vegetables sector, currently operates six bases in various parts of the country and has expressed plans to expand its footprint to 20 or more over the next three years. According to the company, the demand for all-season availability of produce is increasing in India in light of the country’s growing wealth and emerging middle class. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479402.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479402.html Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:33:19 +0530 Private equity group India Agri Business Fund will invest $10 million (about Rs 48 crore) in Gautam Thapar-promoted Avantha Group's food division Global Green Company Ltd. A shareholders agreement was signed between the Avantha Group and Rabo Equity Advisors, India Agri Business Fund and Global Green said in a joint statement. Rabo Equity Advisors is the investment adviser of IABF. "We have successfully developed into a multinational food company through acquisitions. As we have aspirations of building our brands and develop a more robust India business, Rabo Equity's knowledge pool will work to our advantage in the next phase of growth," Global Green Managing Director and CEO Vineet Chhabra said. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479394.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479394.html Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:22:07 +0530 As part of its strategy to exit from bad businesses, TV18 is selling its entire 50 per cent stake in Jobstreet.com India. The joint venture made no progress and TV18 has taken a hit of Rs 25 million in the entire exercise, a source in the company says. The shares have been sold back to the partner, Jobstreet.com Singapore. Floated in late 2006, the joint venture company was to tap into the rapidly growing job portal space in India and provide consolidated value to Web18, the internet and mobile arm of TV18. The market cap of Info Edge, the holding company of naukri.com, is Rs 25.09 billion. Though Info Edge has other smaller properties like www.jeevansathi.com, www.99acres.com, www.quadranglesearch.com and www.shiksha.com, it definitely provides an indicative valuation of a successful job portal in India. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479391.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/13/4479391.html Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:18:21 +0530 Bangalore-based diversified business conglomerate Siesta Group is slated to raise $20 million through the private equity (PE) route to acquire three logistics trading firms in three Asian countries. Post acquisition, Ravi Naware, ex-divisional chief executive of ITC’s food business, will head the company’s logistics division. Speaking with FE, Siesta’s chairman and managing director Ashok Chattaraj said, “The company will acquire firms in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China.” It has done all the groundwork for the acquisition and deals will be officially closed in the beginning of the new financial year beginning April, Chattaraj added. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478269.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478269.html Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:16:04 +0530 After real estate, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) players are holding on to their investments in information technology (IT) companies coming up with initial public offers (IPOs). Traditionally, PE and VC firms look at IPOs as their main exit option. For instance, Pune-based Persistent Systems has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). It will soon hit the market to raise Rs 150-200 crore. Investors such as Intel Capital, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Gabriel Venture Partners and Hewlett-Packard (HP) together hold over 20 per cent in the company. While Intel and HP invested in 2000, Promod Haque of NVP and Gabriel Venture Partners invested in 2005. HP's and a part of Intel's investment have a one-year lock-in, but NVP and Gabriel Ventures have continued to stay with the company. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478266.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478266.html Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:12:46 +0530 Malvinder to be Parkway chairman; acquisition will form Asia’s largest hospital chain. Fortis Healthcare today announced the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian company in the healthcare space, buying the entire 23.9 per cent stake held by TPG Capital in Singapore’s Parkway Holding Ltd for $686 million (Rs 3,119 crore). Fortis is India’s second-largest healthcare provider after Apollo Hospitals and Parkway is Asia’s biggest hospital operator by sales. The acquisition would form Asia’s largest hospital chain with over 10,000 beds across 64 hospitals in six countries. The deal, announced in Singapore on Thursday, will also see Fortis Chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh appointed chairman of the Parkway board. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478265.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/12/4478265.html Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:11:03 +0530 eYantra Industries Limited, a Hyderabad-based corporate gifts and brand merchandising company, has raised $7.8 million (approximately Rs 35.4 crore) in a second round of PE funding led by Argonaut Private Equity. This Series B funding also saw Chennai-based Ventureeast Proactive maintaining its pro-rata investment, which was $2.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) in March 2008 and $1 million (Rs 4.54 crore) in September 2008, into eYantra. "We plan to utilise 40 per cent of the Series B funding to seal three acquisition deals, which will broadbase our presence in the corporate merchandising sector, besides enabling us to diversify into online product customisation and basic office supplies space. The remaining fund would be used to equip our 1.1-million T-shirts capacity per year facility with technologies laser-embossing and 3D sublimation by May this year," eYantra Industries managing director Phani N Raj, told Business Standard. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476764.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476764.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:03:17 +0530 Janalakshmi Financial Services, a Bangalore-based NBFC Microfinance Institution (MFI) promoted by Ramesh Ramanathan, has announced the closure of its Series B funding of $10 million. This round was led by Treeline Asia Master Fund (Singapore), a hedge fund based out of Hong Kong and Singapore. Bellwether Microfinance Fund, an existing investor in the company, also participated in this round. Narayan Ramachandran, who recently relinquished his position as country head of Morgan Stanley India, also invested in Janalakshmi in this round in his personal capacity and has recently joined Janalakshmi’s board. Grameen Capital India acted as the sole advisor to Janalakshmi for this deal. Main Page www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476720.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476720.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:13:25 +0530 IL&FS Investment Managers, a private equity arm of IL&FS Ltd, has acquired a 10% stake in The Mobile Store, an Essar group firm, for Rs100 crore, a senior executive from the retail chain said. The stake sale values Mobile Store, a mobile handsets and accessories retail chain, at Rs1,000 crore, added this person who did not want to be identified. A spokesperson for the Essar group confirmed the transaction but declined to elaborate any further. The chain, managed by Rewant Ruia, a scion of the Ruia family and son of Ravi Ruia, vice-chairman of the group, has been on an expansion spree. Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476717.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476717.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:10:32 +0530 Mayfield India Fund and SIDBIVenture today announced a new investment in Fourcee Infrastructure Equipment Pvt. Ltd. (Fourcee). Under the terms of the investment, Mayfield India Fund and SIDBIVenture will invest Rs.50 crore in Fourcee to expand their tank terminals, add more uniquely designed containers and grow their infrastructure. This new investment reflects Mayfield India Fund's investment theme of adding value to growth stage companies in the consumer and infrastructure segment. The alliance comes at a time when the industry has shown consistent growth, even in these challenging economic times. Currently, Fourcee is the only company focused on providing end to end logistics solution for liquid cargo through road and railways using its own specialized designed containers. Mayfield India's and SIDBIVenture's investment provides an exciting opportunity for Fourcee to expand its footprint and offer unique logistic solutions in India Main Page India Private Equity Deals www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476710.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476710.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:03:12 +0530 Private equity (PE) players in India have offloaded stakes worth USD 757 million in the first two months of this year driven by a significant recovery in the stock markets and hopes of continuation of this trend, believe experts. According to VCCEdge, the financial research platform of VCCircle, January 2010 saw 13 exits worth USD 282 million, while February witnessed as many as 10 worth USD 475 million. "PE funds are under pressure to make some exits before they set out to raise new funds. They will continue to use every opportunity available to exit as long as they see a good return," Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476707.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476707.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:00:06 +0530 Private equity investments in India's logistics services sector are set to rise as it gears up to improve transportation - with costs among the most prohibitive in the world - and boost related infrastructure bottlenecks. The last four years have seen considerable growth in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in logistics, ports, warehouses and container freight stations while Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZ), freight stations, cold chains and captive spin-offs such as auto and retail logistics are seen as attractive targets now. While analysts expect logistics to be among the top five sectors for PE investments in India in the near term, deal sizes will likely be around $20-$25 million, which is where most planned PE ticket sizes converge. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476701.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/10/4476701.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:54:49 +0530 Indian diversified conglomerate Siva Group on Wednesday said that it has bought a 50% stake in the Norway-based glacial water company Isklar for around $22 million, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Lotus Venture. "This present acquisition reinforces the vision of Siva Group and we will look forward to expand operations of the brand in other international markets," Siva Group chief executive Vaidyanathan Srinivasan told PTI. He said that Isklar was established as a joint venture between Sabco, a Middle East-based water bottler and Norwegian firm Jova Holdings. After the transaction, Isklar would become a joint venture company with the Indian Siva Group's holding at 50%, with Sabco and Jova Holdings jointly commanding the remaining stake. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475864.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475864.html Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:50:45 +0530 Independent News & Media has sold 23.5 million ordinary shares in Jagran Prakashan Limited ("JPL") on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India. This sale represents approximately 7.8% of the issued share capital of JPL and reduces INM's holding in JPL to 5.7% (previously 13.5%). INM said this evening that the proceeds from this share sale were approximately €42m, which will be used to pay down bank debt. Having originally invested €28.5m to acquire its stake in 2005, following this share sale, INM's remaining holding in JPL is worth about €33m at the current market price. In addition, INM has received disposal proceeds of approx. €64m from a combination of this disposal and its disposal in July 2009. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475861.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475861.html Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:48:25 +0530 India is ranked among the top three investment destinations for private equity (PE) firms in the world, as per a report by consulting firm Bain & Company. The US, one of the worst affected by the global financial crisis, leads the table as the top investment location for PE funds followed by China, the report said. India recovered sharply ahead of most other economies from the slowdown that hit markets in 2008. The report pointed out that India is emerging as an attractive investment market for PE firms as an increasing number of family-owned businesses are turning to outside investors to raise funds. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475854.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/9/4475854.html Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:44:20 +0530 Aditya Birla Capital Advisors, the private equity (PE) arm of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, will close Fund I, its first fund, this month raising about Rs 800 crore. It had earlier announced its first closure at Rs 675 crore by January. The firm had invested Rs 50 crore last month in Anupam Industries Ltd, a Gujarat-based makers of material handling equipment. Aditya Birla Capital is the first PE arm of an Indian corporate group to close the debut fund successfully. Tata Group and Reliance ADA Group, are in the process of raising their debut PE funds. Tata Capital expects to close the fund-raising for its $350-400 million PE fund in the next six months. Reliance Equity Advisors, the PE arm of Reliance ADAG, was expected to close its first Rs 1,500-crore fund last year. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475095.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475095.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:17:36 +0530 IPL effort to sell two new IPL teams in an auction with a base price of $225 million (about £148 million) fell embarrassingly flat. “The bids that were received were returned without being opened,” Modi said. He added little else in the way of explanation — an omission that will increase suspicions that the IPL has fallen short of the money-spinning bonanza its creator had promised investors. Enthusiasm is likely to have been tempered by the knowledge that a side bought in excess of $225 million is unlikely to make a profit soon. The other indicator of the IPL’s growing value came a month earlier, when the Royals sold a 12 per cent stake for about $15.4 million. The deal valued the franchise at a shade less than $130 million, nearly double the amount paid a year earlier to acquire it. The portion of TV revenues to be distributed among the teams is due to fall to 70 per cent this year, from 80 per cent — the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the owner of the IPL, will keep the rest — and in 2011, it will be 60 per cent. Under such a scenario it appears unlikely that any franchise sold in excess of $225 million would turn a profit in the near future and with each franchise licensed for a mere ten years, time is of the essence. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475076.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475076.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:45:36 +0530 Private sector Axis Bank had initiated talks with investors to spin off its private equity (PE) business as a separate entity, the lender said on Monday. The move was part of the lender’s restructuring plan, said a senior official of the bank. The lender’s PE venture, Axis Private Equity, has a fund size of $150 million. Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of Axis Bank, on the sidelines of the MMA Women Managers' Convention 2010 held at Chennai on Monday, said, “We have initiated a dialogue with our investors and the process would take a few weeks and this would be part of our restructuring plan.” She refused to give a time frame for the plan. “We will first get investors’ approval and then decide,” she said. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475073.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475073.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:39:34 +0530 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), India’s largest media company, is set to acquire 9X, the Hindi general entertainment channel belonging to the loss-making INX Media Pvt Ltd. The deal is expected to cost Zee about Rs 65 crore, sources familiar with the development said. Zee is understood to have walked the road with the INX management, currently being steered by media veteran Pradeep Guha — a former CEO of the Zee group who assumed INX’s chief executive position recently — over the past three-four months. Guha, who also has a small equity position in INX Media, was entrusted with the recast plan by INX’s private equity investors Temasek Holdings, New Silk Route, New Vernon Private Equity Fund and Kotak Private Equity.The decision to exit 9X seems to be an outcome of this recast plan as the channel wasn’t able to hold its own in an arena of white-hot competition. INX has racked up huge losses that, on a carryforward basis, are expected to touch over Rs 800 crore by the end of the current fiscal year for its entire media business. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475062.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475062.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:24:21 +0530 The Indian government Monday moved a bill in Parliament to cut its minimum holding in the State Bank of India to 51% to allow the state-run lender to raise more capital from the market. Under existing law, government holding in the bank can't fall below 55%. As of December last year, the government's holding stood at 59.41%. The proposed changes in the State Bank of India Act will allow the country's largest lender by assets to issue preference shares. It will also enable the bank to issue bonus shares or privately place shares. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475044.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475044.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:03:01 +0530 Corporate India's shopping spree continued unabated in the second month of this year, as deals worth over USD 1.3 billion were announced, a five-fold jump from the year-ago period, a report by global consultancy firm Grant Thornton said. Driven by the significant momentum in the merger and acquisition (M&A) space in February 2010, the total deal tally in the first two months of this year has risen to nearly USD 4 billion. "M&A and private equity deal activity has kept up with the significant momentum set from the beginning of 2010." Grant Thornton Partner Specialist Advisory Services C G Srividya said. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475038.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475038.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:57:51 +0530 Daimler AG, the world’s second- largest maker of luxury cars, is selling its stake in Tata Motors Ltd. after more than five decades of ownership, according to a person familiar with the matter. An investor is offering as many as 25.6 million shares, or a 5.3 percent holding, in India’s largest truck and bus maker, for 737.4 rupees to 761.3 rupees apiece in a block deal that is to be completed tomorrow, according to a sale document. The transaction could raise as much as 19.5 billion rupees ($428 million). Citigroup Inc. is managing the sale. Daimler, based in Stuttgart, Germany, formed a partnership with Tata Motors in 1954 to make commercial vehicles. Mumbai- based Tata Motors, stock has increased more than six times since a record closing low of 126.20 rupees in November 2008. In the 12 months ended March 2009, Tata Motors had its first loss in at least seven years. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475032.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/8/4475032.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:52:18 +0530 ICICI Securities Ltd today said that the Specified Undertaking of The Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) has sold 9.42 per cent of its 25 per cent equity stake in National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) to The National Stock Exchange (NSE). I-Sec acted as the sole advisor to SUUTI for the transaction. With the stake sale, NSE's shareholding in NSDL has gone up from 15.63 per cent to 25.05 per cent. ICICI Securities said SUUTI does not propose to sell further equity stake in NSDL to NSE. IDBI continues to be the largest sponsor of NSDL with 30 per cent equity stake. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472379.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472379.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:25:19 +0530 Retail chain store operator Aditya Birla Retail Ltd. is open to selling a 10% to 15% stake to private equity firms, its chief executive said Friday. "We have no objection to diluting (stake) provided we get the right valuation and the right partner," Thomas Varghese told Dow Jones Newswires by phone. Varghese, however, clarified that there is no deal on the table at the moment. He added that a private equity deal with a foreign fund would only be possible after India relaxes its rules governing the retail sector. Main Page Corporate Action www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472364.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472364.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:56:24 +0530 The corporate venture capital arm of the Reliance ADA group, Reliance Technology Ventures on Wednesday re-branded itself as Reliance Venture Asset Management with immediate effect and said it expects to close three-six deals worth a cumulative investment of USD 50 million in the first half of this year. "We have revamped our strategy to exploit the investing potential in sectors such as clean technology, aerospace, defence, media and entertainment in addition to our mainstay of technology enabled companies. In line with this strategy, we are expected to close three-six deals in H1 2010 worth a cumulative investment of USD 50 million," Reliance Venture Asset Management CEO Harshal J Shah said. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472359.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472359.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:48:28 +0530 While 2009 was a year of caution for most private equity investment firms, 2010 is looking optimistic especially for the logistics sector, which expects to seal many a deals this year.As 2009 ended with a big-ticket private equity investment of Blackstone putting $245 million in Gateway Rail Freight, Indian logistics industry left behind the cautious approach and braced 2010 with optimism. Industry expectations are high, to touch a target of 10-12 private equity deals and investments close to $400 million this year, like the buoyant year of 2008 as against only six deals of 2009. Revival in retail and manufacturing is expected to give a boost to sector specific logistics players. But the fragmented nature of the $10 billion Indian logistics industry, growing at 10 per cent and improving valuations of businesses, will make mergers and acquisitions also a game changer, especially in road and rail transportation. Main Page General www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472351.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/5/4472351.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:40:05 +0530 esh Khanna, former managing director of Warburg Pincus’ India operations, is set to join the breed of private equity (PE) veterans launching their own ventures, industry sources told DNA. Warburg’s India office confirmed the development, saying Dalip Pathak, managing director, who established the PE firm’s India business in 1994 and is currently leader of the firm’s European effort, will assume direct oversight of Warburg Pincus’ investment activities in India. “Rajesh Khanna will depart from the firm to pursue the formation of an independent investment business in India,” the official statement said. Unlike a few other separations in the past, Khanna’s departure has been a very amicable one, said the industry source. Main Page India PE Fund News www.indiape.com http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/3/4471029.html http://www.indiape.com/blog/_archives/2010/3/3/4471029.html Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:25:43 +0530 When the promotor family of retail chain Nilgiris dragged the private equity (PE) investor, Actis, to the Company Law Board (CLB), it was the culmination of a dispute that had been simmering for nearly two years. The differences related to many aspects of the business, starting with the pace of expansion to the kind of merchandise the stores should sell. Nilgiris, present in South India for close to 100 years, divested 65 per cent to the UK-based fund for $65 million nearly three years ago. This was after bitter differences among the family members on whether a PE investor should come on board. The story of Indian family businesses running into trouble with their PE investors is not new. Industry watchers say that while no specific reason can be given, these tensions are inherent in the difference between the way traditional families run businesses and the approach of global PE investors, who have their own systems and procedures. Main Page General