|
|
Bangalore-based flipkart.com, India’s largest online bookstore founded by two former colleagues at Amazon.com — Sachin and Binny Bansal — has now got Series-C VC funding from its existing investor, UK-based Tiger Global, of the order of $20 million to back up its growth plans in India. With the latest round of funds inflow, Flipkart now has a total funding of $31 million. Flipkart has recently acquired weRead.com, the largest social network-based book recommendation and review platform, for an undisclosed sum and also forayed into online sales of electronics, mobile phones and CDs/DVDs of music, movies, games and software. “And the present funding will be used to significantly ramp up supply chain capacity, upgrading technology capabilities and expanding marketing initiatives,” Sachin Bansal, CEO, Flipkart, told Financial Chronicle. […]
Marquee private equity investor Capital International is leading the race to invest Rs 400 crore, or roughly $100 million, for less than 5% stake in L&T Finance Holdings, which is set for an initial public offering (IPO) possibly within three months. Capital International is in advanced talks with L&T Finance after the company firmed up valuation expectations for the upcoming IPO, sources directly familiar with the development said. L&T Finance, a subsidiary of the $10-billion engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro, wants to raise Rs 1,700 crore from the public issue as early as July. […]
Telecom and IT services firm Spanco Ltd is in talks to bring in private equity investment in its BPO business and expects to close a deal in the next six months, an official told Reuters late on Monday. “We will bring in a private equity investor and give an exit through an initial public offering in three years,” Kaustubh Dhavse, vice president, strategy, said. This investment will be a part of the 5-billion-rupee influx of funds approved by the company's board in March. The firm, whose BPO business clocked revenue of 2.1 billion rupees, expects the business to double in FY12 as it expands its operations in both Africa and India, Dhavse said. […]
Private equity funds with real estate focus, many of which are nearing maturity, are in a dilemma: while investment valuations in the sector look good, they are not generating the returns promised to investors. Most of these funds promised 25% returns post-tax, but have been ticking at an average 15%. “This is the right time to invest in real estate for PE funds if they are willing to take risk and think outside metros as the valuations are attractive — but it is the wrong time to raise funds,” said the CEO of one of the top RE funds headquartered in Mumbai. Analysts say high property prices limit the growth of investment, but the desperate need of developers for liquidity boost their bargaining capacity. […]
Nearly three years after raising a record $100 million from private equity funds to expand its presence in multi-specialty expansive hospitals in 5-6 cities in India, Narayana Hrudayalaya is once again tapping the private equity route to expand its presence in the neighbourhood speciality clinics space. Riding the wave of PE fund raising by Vasan Healthcare, MedPlus and Metropolis, Narayana Hrudayalaya is looking to raise $15 million to expand its network of dental clinics to start with. The company had earlier stated it will spend around Rs 150 crore over the next couple of years to expand presence in this space. Narayana Hrudayalaya, in fact has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary for this foray and in addition to dental clinics, the company is also looking at cosmetology and may at a later stage look at eye-care and birthing centres. […]
Janalakshmi Financial Services, a Bangalore-based microlender to the urban poor, raised 650 mln rupees ($14.4 mln) in its third round of private equity funding taking the total amount to a little over 1 bln rupees, Chairman Ramesh Ramanathan told reporters on Wednesday. Funds to India's microfinance sector have dried up after it suffered a setback late last year when Andhra Pradesh, which had the largest microfinance market in India, approved legislation to regulate the industry following complaints about high interest rates, aggressive recovery practices and overextended borrowers. “Coming after a major crisis in the sector, this is a major transaction and is a clear sign that the tide is turning for microfinance,” Ramanathan said. Citi Venture Capital International has acquired a significant minority stake in the company through this latest round of funding, though he did not reveal details. Other investors in this round include TreeLine and other existing private investors. Bangalore-based Unitus Capital was the lead arranger and adviser of the issue. Morgan Stanley also acted as an adviser. […]
Indians' obsession with schooling combined with woeful public education and rising incomes has private equity firms on the hunt for scarce opportunities in the country's booming but fragmented for-profit education sector. Deals tend to be small in the highly regulated industry. The Indian education sector saw 11 private equity investments worth a combined $130 million in the first four months of 2011, putting it on track to surpass last year's $261 million raised from 25 deals, according to a report by Kaizen Private Equity. Recent deals include a 1 billion rupee ($22 million)investment in staffing and vocational training firm Teamlease by Indian funds Gaja Capital and ICICI Ventures, the $2 billion private equity arm of No. 2 lender ICICI Bank . New Silk Route, which runs a $1.3 billion fund focused on the Asian consumer sector, has made one investment in Indian education and is hoping to close its next investment in the vocational or test prep segment in the coming six months, said partner Jacob Kurian. […]
Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) investments, which are major contributors in development of several sectors in the country, are likely to touch $70-75 billion till 2015, leading audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton said today. “We expect $70-75 billion of PE and VC investments in India during 2010-2015,” Sudhir Sethi, founder, chairman and managing director, IDG Ventures India and member of IVCA Executive Committee and Research and Data Sub Com told reporters here after the launch of 'The Fourth Wheel'. 'The Fourth Wheel' is a report on PE and Venture Capital (VC) in India, jointly prepared by Grant Thornton and India Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Grant Thornton India Partner, leadership team, Harish HV said PE funds had now crossed $50 billion over the last six years and 2010 alone saw $6 billion fund flow. […]
The market is abuzz with talk that private equity fund Sequoia Capital has turned active in the counter of nonbanking finance company Manappuram General Finance, with triggers being attractive valuation and high growth potential of the gold loan sector. The fund is learnt to have bought shares worth Rs 50 crore in the past one week, thereby re-entring the company after exiting its previous investments last year. Sequoia Capital India Growth Investments had invested $14 million to acquire a 14% stake in Manappuram. […]
High valuations are making it tough for private equity (PE) fund managers to deliver expected returns to investors. “We are not seeing fund level returns, even though PE in India is today a decade-old industry,” said Anubha Shrivastava, managing director-Asia of CDC Group, the development finance institution of the UK government that has so far invested at least $1 billion across 17 funds. “LPs (limited partners that invest in PE funds) expected net return of 20-25%, but today deals are being done at high valuations, bringing in the net returns to mid teens.” The pace of PE exits in India has shot up; in 2010, there were exits to the tune of $5.3 billion, a fivefold jump over 2009, according to Venture Intelligence, a research service focused on private equity, mergers and acquisitions. This appears to be due to heightened competition among PEfunds, with close to 300 of them jostling for deals. […]
|
Post your messages.Please refrain from posting offensive messages. IndiaPE accepts no liability for the consequences of your reliance on these postings and messages.
|