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India's real estate developer Unitech Ltd. said Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in the initial phase of the company's project on the Western expressway in the city of Mumbai for around $175 million. The project is being jointly developed by Unitech and its local Mumbai partners, the company said in a filing with the BSE. Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners will contribute 50 percent of the construction costs with a collective similar contribution from Unitech and its local Mumbai partners. The initial phase entails development of one million square feet of office space out of the total developable area of around 18 million square feet. (Forbes) […]
Gemini Communication Ltd said on Monday it has acquired 51 percent stake in Chennai-based Veeras Infotek Pvt Ltd for 70 million rupees. The acquisition, funded through internal accruals, would start contributing to revenues from the current quarter, Executive Director R.Ramkumar told Reuters. The acquisition will extend Gemini's network security capabilities and increase its client base, he added. “They have a solid skill base, which is a big value addition. Their customer-base will also be added to ours,' he said over the telephone. Veeras has about 400 clients across the country while Gemini has more than 1000 clients. “We will be able to extend our services across the globe,” Ramkumar said. […]
Flush with cash from his wireless telephony company's sale, industrialist B K Modi is negotiating to acquire 39 per cent stake in Indian television company, Multi Screen Media (MSM), earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television. Modi, who was earlier eyeing the 32 per cent stake held by Indian shareholders, is now looking at acquiring an additional 7 per cent held by trusts. He is also planning to re-brand the television channel as Sony Spice TV. “We are in talks to buy Sony from the present shareholders and now we are close to acquiring 39 per cent stake in the company. We are also open to take our stake further to get majority control,” a top executive of Spice group said, on condition of anonymity. Apart from buying the Indian promoters' 32 per cent shares in the company, Modi is talking to various equity funds to garner another 7 per cent. With this buyout, Modi will become the largest shareholder in the company after Sony Pictures, which holds 61 per cent. The unlisted MSM is one of India's leading television channels and its minority promoters were looking at exiting the company for a long time. […]
Downturn in the world economies notwithstanding, India is witnessing increasing number of private equity (PE)deals with the total value touching $6.39 billion so far this year. PE deals in the country have fared well since the beginning of this year despite global credit crunch, high oil prices, inflation among others. “The total number of PE deals during the first five months of 2008 stands at 170, with an announced value of $6.39 billion as against 159 deals amounting to $4.97 billion during the corresponding period in 2007,” global consulting major Grant Thornton said. Meanwhile, another global deal tracking firm Zephyr said India is among the top 10 countries in terms of value of private equity deals across the world. […]
The Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd has asked for Reserve Bank of India's permission to take over South Indian Co-operative Bank, sources at the bank said on Friday. “We have applied to the RBI to take over South Indian Co-operative and we expect the formalities to be completed in a couple of months,” a senior official at the bank told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. Another official said the bank management has met officials at the central bank on Thursday to discuss the proposal. Officials at the South Indian Co-operative Bank and the central bank were not immediately available for comments. Saraswat Bank has a deposit base of 110 billion rupees and an advances base of 70 billion rupees as of March, the official said. (Reuters) […]
Telekom Malaysia is understood to have picked up a little less than 15% stake in Aditya Birla group’s company Idea Cellular at a price of Rs 158 a share through a preferential offer paying above $2 billion for the acquisition. This values the Birla company over $10 billion. The preferential offer has been made to Telekom Malasyia (TM) at a substantial premium to the current market price of Idea Cellular. Idea’s scrip closed at Rs 108.25 on BSE, on Friday. Its market cap stood at Rs 28,527 crore. Sources said TM is learnt to have paid Rs 158 a share for about 15% additional stake in Idea Cellular. Idea would now buy out the Modi's 40.8% stake in Spice Communications and merge with it and TM would have 20% equity in the merged entity. While an Idea spokesperson declined to comment on this, the company in a filing to stock exchange said the company keeps pursing growth opportunities and can not comment on the reports of TM picking up 15% additional stake in Idea Cellular and as and when any definitive proposal of any nature is considered and approved by the company's board, the company shall inform the exchange. […]
The New York Times Co. intends to buy a 5% stake in Sieger Solutions, an advertising arm of India-based newspaper publisher Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. If the deal goes through, DCHL will print its Financial Chronicle in association with the Times-owned International Herald Tribune, the Indian publisher announced in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. That would include a daily four-page section from the Tribune in the Indian financial newspaper. The sale, the value of which has not been disclosed, will also be subject to statutory approvals and respective board approvals, the filing stated. The publisher’s Deccan Chronicle is one of India’s most widely circulated English dailies in competition with The Hindu and The Times of India. […]
Private equity firm, Subhkam Ventures, on Thursday said it has increased its stake in steel submersible pump manufacturer, Shakti Pumps, from three per cent to 12.05 per cent. The mode of increase in holding is by way conversion of warrants allotted to Subhkam Ventures on preferential basis, a press release issued here said. “Shakti Pumps has proved its credentials with its quality products. Its energy-efficient product line saves 30 per cent more energy than other competing products,” Subhkam's Director and CEO, Manu Punnoose, said. […]
The public sector banking major State Bank of India (SBI) is now planning to cater to the fund requirements of the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, which often faces unfair treatment from the banking sector when it comes to lending, by setting up an exclusive fund. The biggest bank in the country has decided to set up a private equity fund to cater to the capital requirements of the SME sector. “We will not only lend, but participate in the equity of SMEs. We will even hand-hold them initially and help with various issues including tapping the capital markets,” said the SBI chairman O P Bhatt. He said the fund would be set up during the current calendar year with a first tranche of about Rs 500 crore. Fund size would be increased as per need. The bank would hold 20% equity in the fund and is talks with potential partners. In order to perform professionally and independently, the fund would not be managed by the external partners. […]
D E Shaw, a global private equity firm with $36 billion in assets, is understood to be planning around $200 million investment in the Indian education sector by taking up strategic positions in companies offering e-learning, distant learning, vocational training and the like. The PE major is upbeat on the sector following the ministry of education's estimate that the country needs to build close too 200,000 new K-12 (kindergarten to senior secondary) schools. According to industry sources, the infrastructure must be set up within five years to provide education for predicted growth in student numbers and also the over 100 million children who are out of school. The government has called on the private sector to help fill this demand-supply gap. “However, one of the principal supply side constraints for private schools is the access of educational infrastructure required for a new school and companies such as Educomp intends to target this gap,” an industry source said. The spokesperson for D E Shaw could not be reached for comments. D E Shaw is expected to leverage one of its portfolio firms, Excelsoft, as a vehicle for acquisitions in this sector in addition to making direct PE investments. […]
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