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In its first global acquisition that will catapult it into the top 10 global soda ash manufacturers league, Ahmedabad-based Nirma Ltd has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire US-based natural soda ash producer Searles Valley Minerals Operations Inc and Searles Valley Minerals Inc (collectively known as SVM) from private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc and other minority shareholders. Expected to be concluded by January 2008, the acquisition is to be made through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nirma in US, which is in the process of being set up. While company officials refused to divulge details of the deal citing confidentiality clauses, market sources said the acquisition is being done through an all-cash deal that could cost Nirma in excess of $200 million. The acquisition price is estimated to be at a discount to the $299 million turnover that both the SVM entities raked in last year, sources said. The company is likely to finance the big ticket acquisition by taking upto 50% either on its Indian balance sheet or on balance sheet of the foreign subsidiary. The deal is subject to approval from US authorities. The big ticket acquisition is slated to push Nirma to the top seven producers of soda ash in the world with a total capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum out of the global 48 million tpa capacity of synthetic and natural soda ash. Nirma is the largest producer of synthetic soda ash in India with a capacity of about 1 million tonnes per annum. […]
The cement and construction major Jaiprakash Associates (JAL), a part of Jaypee group, is believed to be in talks with the Aditya Birla group to acquire Bina Power (BPC) in Madhya Pradesh. The 500-MW project has been on the backburner since it failed to make headway in late 90s when investments in the domestic power sector hit a trough due to unhealthy state electricity boards across the country. The group sold Rosa project in UP to Reliance Power in 2006. Rosa has tied up with a consortium of financiers led by IDBI to mobilise Rs 2,162 crore for the first phase of its 1,200 MW power project. The coal-based Bina project will require almost Rs 2,000 crore investment to set up 500-MW plant. Sources said JAL is interested in doubling the capacity to 1,000 MW, if the state government gives necessary approvals. The MP government would be ready to allocate coal blocks for the plant, said sources. “For the project, the Madhya Pradesh government has acquired land and given all necessary clearances. BPC, the shell company which owns the assets, will be transferred to JAL after the acquisition. The value of the deal would be just the investment already made at the location and the premium,” said sources in the know. Both Birla group and JAL have declined comment on the proposed deal. […]
DLF Ltd, the largest real estate developer in India, has announced its equal partnership with Aman Resorts, to enter into definitive agreements to acquire a controlling interest in the Aman Resorts Group. The entire transaction, when completed, is estimated to be valued at $400 million with an assumed debt of approximately $150 million. Aman Resorts is one of the world's leading hospitality and lifestyle businesses and currently owns and operates 22 luxury hotels, many with residences, in 12 countries. Several of the properties, such as the famed Amanpuri in Phuket and Amandari in Bali have received numerous awards over the years. In addition to expanding its resort locations, Aman Resorts is developing projects in key gateway cities around the world, the first of which is scheduled to open in New Delhi, India, in 2008. It has ambitious growth plans with many new properties in various stages of development. […]
Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd. said on Wednesday that its Board has approved the acquisition of a 51% stake, for cash, in Dimple Chie Advertising Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. Dimple Cine Advertising has an all-India presence and is a one-stop cinema solution provider for both on-screen and off-screen advertising business capable of all types of cinema campaigns. Keynote Corporate Services Ltd., Mumbai, was the advisor to Pyramid Saimira on this transaction.(India Infoline) […]
Valuemart Info Technologies acquired a 74% stake in Datatalk Services (India) (Datatalk) a Bangalore based IT and BPO company. The shareholders agreement with Datatalk was signed on Nov. 28, 2007. After acquisition, Datatalk will be a subsidiary of Valuemart. The acquisition will help the company to acquire premium clients and broad base our service offerings in the BPO segment. Datatalk, a Bangalore based BPO, offers direct marketing, customer acquisition and retention and telemarketing services in the domestic market to prestigious clients like Airtel, Club Mahindra, Deutsche Bank, Nestle, Pepsi, Tektronics and Zee Television among others. Datatalk currently operates a 100-seat facility, in Bangalore and will set up an additional 200-seats capacity for its clients in Bangalore and Hyderabad in the next six months. […]
Balaji Telefilms, Ekta Kapoor-promoted production house, plans to offload 10-15 per cent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary Balaji Motion Pictures. Sources said the company is valued at Rs 1,000 crore. Centrum Finance is said to be the financial advisor to the company. Sources added that the company is in talks with private equity investors. It is considering roping in only one private equity, instead of a cluster of investors. However, the plan is at a nascent stage. Balaji Telefilms CEO R Karthik said, “We are adequately funded to take care of our needs. We are weighing various options to fund our future growth. However, it is premature at this stage to comment on any specific instrument.” Balaji Motion Pictures in the past has produced films such as Kya Kool Hai Hum, co-produced Shootout at Lokhandwala with Sanjay Gupta and Sanjay Dutt’s banner White Feather Films. […]
Private equity firm Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, National Australian Bank and Shinsei Bank are likely bidders for an equity stake in India’s oldest fund house, UTI Asset Management Company (UTI AMC). Close to 25 overseas institutional investors have evinced interest in picking up a stake in the country’s third largest mutual fund. UTI AMC plans to offload 20% stake through a private placement and 29% through an initial public offer. However, no single investor would be able to hold more than 5%. “Merchant bankers are in the process of readying the information memorandum which will be given out to prospective investors as a part of the pre-marketing exercise before they give their bids. However, all institutional investors will have to match the initial public offer price if it is more,” a source involved with the process told ET. The private placement is expected to be completed by January while the initial public offer is slated for February-March. The listing process has to be completed before March 31, 2008. The fund house could raise about Rs 6,000-8,000 crore through the combination of private placement and initial public offer. […]
India's Reliance Communications (RCOM) is reported to be planning to sell another 5% stake in its wireless tower business (RTIL) by the end of this year. The Economic Times reports that JP Morgan has invited bids for the stake – which it aims to sell for more than the $345 million that the company got for the 5% it sold earlier this year. The sale at the time valued the tower operations at US$6.75 billion. Reliance wants the business to achieve an enterprise valuation of US$9 billion – which would require the extra 5% to sell for at least US$450 million. The tower business currently counts Reliance' CDMA network as its prime customer and also provides services to Reliance's GSM network. There have been regular rumours that several operators are considering merging their tower operations to create an independent rival to RTIL. […]
Reliance Entertainment, part of Anil Ambani's Reliance Group (ADAG) has acquired Anirights Infomedia, an animation company based in Pune. Reliance Entertainment is planning big investments in animation projects. This acquisition boosts Reliance Entertainment's plans for the entire value chain in the entertainment business, complementing its presence in movies, music, gaming, mobile portals and radio. According to Nasscom, the Indian animation industry was estimated at $354 million in 2006 and is expected to reach $869 million by 2010. The Indian gaming industry was estimated at $48 million and is expected to cross $424 million by 2010. Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance Entertainment said that the acquisition was completed sometime in the past three months, without giving a specific time or Reliance Entertainment's investment in the animation company. […]
Leading foreign investors like Goldman Sachs and Blackstone are in final stages of negotiations to buy 26% stake in India Infoline Distribution Co (IILD), the distribution subsidiary of the brokerage firm India Infoline. The investors are willing to offer $100 million for the strategic stake in IILD. The Mumbai-based broking firm’s move to offload stake comes after the proposed deal with Merrill Lynch fell through. Merrill Lynch, which had shown interest to invest in the subsidiary, later backed off citing technical reasons. When contracted by ET, India Infoline vice-president (planning and strategy) Harshad Apte confirmed that they are in talks with some funds. However, he refused to divulge any further details. “We cannot give any specific names,” he said. On Friday, shares of India Infoline rose 2.50% to close at Rs 1,114.90 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. […]
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