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It is learnt that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is in talks to pick up a 5% stake in Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (DRL) in order to strengthen its association with the Dr Reddy`s with whom it had signed a marketing alliance four months ago, reports Economic Times. It is believed that the deal may be priced around USD 150 million and could be clinched in two months, if talks stay on track. […] Citing two sources familiar with the development, a local business daily says Tata Motors intends to sell a 10-15% equity stake in its financial arm, Tata Motors Finance. This move is reportedly aimed at raising funds in order to reduce its debt. The company's debt currently stands at Rs240bn (US$4.96bn). This potential stake sale could yield Rs2bn, which would value the subsidiary at Rs13-20bn, The Economic Times says. It is believed that Tata Capital could be a potential buyer for this stake. Sources have said that other companies operating in the same industry could be the targets for this sale. […] In a trend that may affect private equity (PE) inflows into the country, many institutional investors of PE funds are abandoning these funds to make their own investment decisions. With global downturn affecting PE returns, these institutional investors, or limited partners, have raised doubts on the ability of fund managers, or general partners, to maximise investments and justify their high management fee, which is typically not less than 2% of the corpus. A large UK-based PE firm, which recently announced a $1.2-billion infrastructure fund to invest in power, port and road projects in India, has seen its limited partners declining to go ahead with their commitments, an industry executive said. These partners, mostly institutional investors, are taking their own decisions and co-investing with the fund in target companies, said the executive who requested not to reveal the identity of the company. […] Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today informed that pursuant to the disinvestment of its equity holding in Oil India by the government of India, it has purchased 10,700,220 equity shares of Rs 10 each of Oil India for a total amount of Rs 11.2352 billion from the government of India. Thus, Indian Oil Corporation now holds 5% of the equity capital in Oil India.(My Iris) […] RPG group-owned Spencer's Retail, a leading multi-format retailer, plans to raise funds for its expansion, a top company official said. Spencer's CEO, Vineet Kapila, said the company is holding talks with private equity players to raise funds. “We are in talks with some private equity players to raise funds,” Kapila told reporters here today. He, however, did not divulge the amount the company proposes to raise. […] Koutons Retail India Ltd. is looking to raise 1.20 billion rupees ($24.7 million)-1.50 billion rupees by the end of December through a share sale to fund expansion and reduce debt. The apparel retailer may raise the funds via a private equity deal or a qualified institutional placement, Chairman D.P.S. Kohli told Dow Jones Newswires recently. Plans will be firmed up by the end of this month, he added. Koutons Retail's fundraising plans come at a time when several Indian retailers are talking of expansion after closing hundreds of nonviable stores in the past one year when sales slumped due to the economic slowdown. […] General Electric (GE) is in talks to acquire several Indian firms in sectors such as healthcare, energy, transportation equipment and infrastructure, as the $183-billion conglomerate looks to expand beyond the US and Europe, its key markets that are affected by the global economic downturn. “We are bullish on the India story and have a dedicated research team that is working on deals across sectors in India and overseas. We hope to close some of them in the next few months,” said GE India CEO Tejpreet Chopra. GE is going ahead with investment plans in its existing businesses such as healthcare, water, energy, aviation, rail and financial services. The firm is looking at partnering firms across sectors to leverage their knowledge and technology-sharing know-how. […] An investor in the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. is offering a stake in the country’s largest bourse for sale, according to an advertisement posted on the stakeholder’s behalf by IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd. A client of IDBI Capital plans to sell 384,798 shares in the Mumbai-based company, according to the posting in the Economic Times newspaper today. The last date for submitting bids is Sept. 22, it said. R. Swaminathan, a vice president in the institutional business group at IDBI Capital, declined to name the seller or provide more details when contacted today. The National Stock Exchange sold a 5 percent stake in January 2007 to NYSE Group Inc. for $115 million, valuing the bourse at $2.3 billion. […] Overseas investors are picking up around 55% in the integrated solar complex coming up at Haldia in West Bengal at an investment of around Rs 5,000 crore. Singapore-based International Solar, a clean energy investor, is in the process of taking 25% in the project while another 30% is being picked up by American and German funds which invest in clean energy. Domestic player Srei Finance is also in talks to pick up 20% in the project, while the balance 25% will be held by the promoters — Bhaskar Silicon, an independent company set up by the Indian arm of Singapore-based Environ Energy. The venture, said to be India's first poly-silicon project, will have the capacity to generate 250 megawatt (mw) of solar power on its completion. […] LIC Housing Finance is raising up to $136 million through a share sale to institutional investors at a discount of 1.9 to 3.4 percent to its Tuesday closing price, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The company was selling 10 million shares in a qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering at 650 to 660 rupees each in a deal handled by Citigroup, Enam Securities, Kotak Securities, and Nomura, the person said. LIC Housing shares rose 1.92 percent on Tuesday to close at 673 rupees. The deal was set to be completed before the start of trading on Wednesday. (ET) […] |