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Qualcomm to invest in start-ups

Qualcomm Ventures will focus on Indian start-ups and private companies that serve the mobile and semiconductor ecosystem in India through innovation in mobile application and platform software developers, semiconductor components, devices and service platforms and also network infrastructure providers. In addition, Qualcomm Ventures will work with its portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, advise in enhancing and protecting their innovations and support in standardising their technologies. Qualcomm Ventures’ first direct-equity investment in India is in Tessolve Services, a provider of solutions and platforms for semiconductor testing, packaging, qualification and failure analysis. […]

Tata Tele to raise $1 billion by selling stake to PE and strategic investors

Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is planning to raise more than $1 billion by selling a chunk of its stake to private equity (PE) and strategic investors in one of the largest telecom deals in recent times. India’s second-largest CDMA operator plans to sell 15-30% to financial and strategic investors to raise money for its expansion in both CDMA and the soon-to-be-launched GSM services, people close to the deal said. The Tata Tele deal, which is being run by Lazard, could be bigger than the Bharti Infratel deal. Last December, the Bharti Airtel wireless tower offshoot raised about $1 billion from investors such as Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek. As Tata Tele wants to rope in a strategic investor and even PE funds, the stake involved could be as high as 25-30%, a person involved in the transaction said. “Tata Teleservices continues to seek appropriate and value enhancing opportunities that meet its overall business objectives but as a policy, Tata Teleservices doesn’t comment on speculation,” a spokesperson said. […]

Citi realty arm to buy 10% stake in Golden Gate for Rs 400cr

Citigroup’s real estate arm is set to invest around Rs 400 crore ($100 million) in Bangalore-headquartered Golden Gate Properties for about 10% stake, sources said. The deal is expected to value the tier-II real estate firm at a little over $1 billion. This marks Citigroup’s back-to-back deals in the domestic real estate space in the last fortnight. Early last week, the global financial giant unveiled $160 million play in Delhi-based BPTP. Golden Gate is primarily into residential market with about 20,000 units under development totaling 23 million sq ft across southern cities such as Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The company also has substantial land holdings extending into emerging centres like Mysore and Mangalore. Besides, Golden Gate is believed to be foraying into SEZ and mixed use development. […]

PE dilemma: Good prices, no money

Private equity (PE) firms are smacking their lips at the depths to which valuations of companies have plummeted from their high perch just over three months ago. But some of these firms are plagued with another problem: The climate to raise funds for investing is not at its best. The global credit crisis triggered by defaults on home loans in the US, and the looming recession in that country has sparked scepticism among pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, family offices and others who serve as the main sources of funding for these private equity firms. “Raising funds is much tougher now. It means many more phone calls, more meetings, more effort,” says Alok Sama, founder and president of Baer Capital Partners, which is in the process of raising a $500 million fund to invest in Indian real estate and infrastructure. […]

Macquarie Group and SBI Plan Infrastructure Fund

Australian securities firm Macquarie Group Ltd., (MQBKY.PK) and state owned State Bank of India plan to raise $2 billion to invest in direct infrastructure opportunities in India. They join other global banks, including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., ICICI Bank Ltd., and the London-based 3i Group Plc in planning to raise funds for investment in India's infrastructure. Macquarie and SBI signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a company and manage the proposed fund. Macquarie, SBI and The International Finance Corporation as one of the cornerstone investor have planned to contribute a total of $450 million to start the fund. The fund, which is expected to launch by the end of June, intends to provide equity and equity-like capital for investments in roads, ports, airports and power. It will also look at investment opportunities in infrastructure-related assets and businesses. The fund will also raise further capital from both domestic and international institutional investors. […]

Parsvnath sells 30% stake in a project to foreign funds

Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers Ltd has sold 30 percent stake in a Mumbai project to foreign funds for 1.86 bilion rupees, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Parsvnath will sell 15 percent stake each in the Kurla bus depot redevelopment project to Euronext-listed Yatra Capital and recently-launched Saffron India Real Estate Fund-I. Both are promoted by U.K.-based fund manager Saffron Asset Advisors. Yatra and Saffron have picked up the stake at land-value basis. They will also proportionately fund all future development and construction activities for the project, Parsvnath said.(Reuters) […]