March 2009
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Blackstone Buys 10.38% Stake In Allcargo Global

The world's biggest private equity firm, Blackstone Group is all set to invest around Rs 240 crore to purchase 10.38% stake in Mumbai-based logistics firm Allcargo Global. Besides, the US-based company has also expressed its intention to buy another 4.61% of the enhanced paid up equity from the open market. Allcargo will issue 1,000 equity shares and 1,081,081 fully and compulsorily convertible debentures (FCCD), convertible into an equal number of equity shares, at Rs 934 each to Blackstone. The company will also issue 1,513,514 warrants, convertible into equal number of equity shares at the choice of the investors from the date of issuance, between Rs 934 and Rs 1,284 per warrant. […]

Biotech firm raises $10 mn from PE fund

Bangalore-based Cellworks Group Inc., which also has an office in California, has raised about $8-10 million (Rs41.44-51.80 crore) from a California private equity (PE) investor, details of which will be announced in the next few weeks, says its co-founder and chief executive Taher Abbasi. Still, in a financing environment that is getting more challenging by the day, if an Indian biotechnology start-up raises close to $10 million in private equity it doesn’t necessarily signal an uptick in the biotech fortunes, rather this sets it apart from the rest as many of them begin to look for government money. Abbasi, who has been negotiating this deal for some time, agrees that “investors are not issuing new term sheets and new deals are on hold”. […]

PE investments drop over 50% to $6.6 bn

Private equity (PE) investments in India declined by over 50 per cent, between April 2008 and February 2009, to $6.6 billion (around Rs 33,000 crore) from $14.3 billion (Rs 70,000 crore) a year ago. Total number of deals also dropped 33 per cent, to 292 from 436. According to industry experts, investment activity would pick up slowly through the year although they do not expect 2009 to be much better than 2008. Arun Natarajan, founder and chief executive officer, Venture Intelligence, a Chennai-based PE research firm which compiled the data, said that, except for media and entertainment which reported a 96 per cent growth in value terms, all industries have reported a drop in investments. Some of the big-ticket investments during the period include a $428-million investment by Providence in Adiya Birla Telecom in May 2008, followed by $225 million by GIC in Reid & Taylor India in June 2008, $190 million by a PE consortium led by IDFC in Quippo Telecom Infrastructure in August 2008, $175 million by Goldman Sachs in Mahindra & Mahindra in May and $174 million by Masdar in WinWind in September 2008. […]

ASK launches $100m real estate fund

ASK Investments is reportedly raising INR5bn for the vehicle, with plans to invest mainly in uncompleted residential real estate projects across the country’s top seven cities. ASK Investment Holdings, the private equity wing of financial services group ASK, has reportedly launched a real estate fund targeting INR 5 billion ($97 million; €76 million). The fund will primarily invest in the residential sectors of India’s top seven cities, with a focus on 200 real estate developers, according to The Economic Times. […]

CDC to invest $10 m in Rabo's agri-fund

CDC Group Plc, the UK government-backed private emerging markets fund, is all set to partner with agri-business specialist Rabo Equity Advisors for investment in the Indian food and agri-segment. It is planning to invest around $10 million in Rabo's India Agri Business Fund, taking the fund's kitty to about $100 million, according to sources. CDC would be the fifth limited partner to join the Rabo fund, which was launched in July 2008 and has IFC, FMO, DEG and Rabobank as lead investors. An announcement for this is expected to be made soon. […]