February 2010
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Indian Govt ready to Help Bharti Airtel in Zain Deal

The Indian government will help Bharti Airtel Ltd. in its bid to buy most of the African assets of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co., or Zain, if the Indian mobile-phone operator seeks any assistance, the federal corporate affairs minister said Wednesday. Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile-phone company by subscribers, though hasn't approached the corporate affairs ministry for any help, Salman Khurshid told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. He also said that there aren't any apparent policy issues in the Bharti-Zain Deal as of now. […]

Temasek Holdings Reduces Stake in India’s ICICI Bank to 5.9%

Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state investment firm, reduced its stake in ICICI Bank Ltd. to 5.9 percent as of Sept. 29, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Temasek’s holding in ICICI, India’s second-largest bank, fell from 8.3 percent a year earlier, according to the Feb. 12 filing. […]

Abbott makes open offer for 20 pc in Solvay Pharma India

US-based pharmaceutical firm Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday announced completing the acquisition of the global drug business of Solvay SA, consequent to which it has made an offer to acquire 20 per cent of Solvay's India business. Abbott Capital India and Abbott Laboratories have made an open offer to acquire 10.09 lakh shares of Solvay Pharma India at Rs 3,054.73 per share, Solvay Pharma India said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The offer would aggregate an outgo of Rs 308 crore. It will open on April 7 and close on April 26. DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd is the banker to the offer. […]

Top football club’ plan £320m IPL deal

A leading English football club are looking to buy a stake in one of two new cricket teams that will compete in next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), according to the tournament’s ringmaster. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner and the driving force behind cricket’s wealthiest competition, said that he is also holding discussions with MCC about it becoming involved with one of the new IPL franchises. “There is a football club, a very famous football club in the UK, very interested in bidding,” Modi told The Times yesterday in an interview at his office in Mumbai. […]

Big-ticket PE deals back in vogue

Big-ticket private equity investments are set to see a revival in 2010, driven by an improved business environment and increased investor confidence. In fact, the trend seems to have already begun, if one looks at the deals closed in the first couple of months of the year. In mid-January 2010, a consortium of private equity firms, including Baring, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity and Deutsche Bank, acquired a 16% stake in infrastructure-EPC company Coastal Projects for $54.8 million. Early February saw the largest investment of the year so far, with Quadrangle Capital and a few others pumping $300 million into Towervision India. And that’s not all —the market is abuzz with more such deals that are in the final stages of negotiations and are expected to be closed in the coming months. […]

PVR terminates buy-out deal with DT Cinemas

Multiplex chain operator PVR Ltd has terminated its agreement to acquire the cinema exhibition business of DT Cinemas Ltd, a DLF Group company. PVR, in a statement to the BSE, said that both parties mutually agreed not to extend the period for completion of the pact. PVR said the agreement was cancelled as the “condition for acquisition” has not been met by DT Cinemas. Both PVR and DLF officials remained tight-lipped on the specific conditions that were not met. […]

LIC can't buy over 10% stake in companies

Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) won't be allowed to increase its stake to more than 10 percent in Indian firms, but will be allowed to retain the stake in companies where it already holds more than 10 percent, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday. Sector regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) does not allow insurers to hold more than 10 percent stake in any firm, leading to market speculations that the state-run insurer might be asked to pare its existing stakes. “The IRDA has not asked them (LIC) to pare it down. But they may do it for commercial reasons,” the official, who declined to be named told Reuters. […]

SBI may take stake in Tata Motors Finance

State Bank of India (SBI) may pick up a 49% stake in Tata Motors Finance Ltd (TMFL), the vehicle financing unit of Tata Motors Ltd, according to two persons familiar with the development. The deal will allow the country’s largest commercial bank by assets to expand into loans for trucks and buses. The persons familiar declined to be identified as the deal hasn’t been finalized. Shyam Mani, managing director, TMFL, the country’s largest non-banking finance company, declined to comment. “Only Tata Motors shall be able to comment on the matter,” he said. The parent company didn’t confirm or deny the news. […]

Tube Investments to acquire stake in Sedis Group

Tube Investments announced acquisition of a controlling stake in Sedis Group, France through acquisition of 77% equity of its holding company, Financiere C10. The stock opened at Rs 75 and touched high of Rs 81 on the NSE. As many as 736,175 equity shares changed the hands on the counter so far. The company acquired stake directly from the financial investors in FC10 (75%) and a few other shareholders. The management shareholders will continue to hold the remaining shares in FC10 and be associated with Sedis for a period of three years. […]

BP, Reliance in race for stake in Canadian firm

British energy major BP and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries are in the race to buy a majority stake in a Canadian company Value Creation, a media report says. “The company (BP) is in talks to pay about $1.2 billion for a majority stake in Value Creation, a Canadian company that has substantial reserves of the oil-rich sand deposits,” the Sunday Times reported yesterday. The daily further said that “Reliance Industries, the Indian conglomerate, is thought to have made a rival $2 billion takeover bid, but BP is understood to be the preferred partner.” BP, however, is likely to face fierce opposition from environmentalists and some of its shareholders, as they believe that the deal is expensive and environmentally damaging, the report added. […]