Mudra Lifestyle today said it will issue 1.2 crore equity shares, constituting 25 per cent equity in the company, to South Korea-based textile chain E-Land for around Rs 72 crore. “The Board of Directors at its meeting held on October 15 has decided to issue 1.2 crore equity shares of face value Rs 10 each, at a price of Rs 60 per share,” the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. An extra ordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the company will be held on November 13 for approval. The entry into the above transactions would result in the investor being required to make an open offer under provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India. […]

Fortis Global Healthcare Holdings today said it would acquire the healthcare businesses of Hong Kong-listed Quality Healthcare Asia Ltd for around Rs 882 crore. In a statement issued today, the Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh-promoted firm said the deal marked an important step in achieving the promoter family’s vision of creating a premier pan-Asia healthcare business. Fortis Global will acquire five subsidiaries of Quality Healthcare Asia (QHA). However, the elderly healthcare businesses of QHA will not be part of the deal. An agreement to this effect was reached between the two companies on October 8. […]

U.K. telecommunications company BT Group PLC has restarted discussions to sell its 30.83% stake in Indian software company Tech Mahindra Ltd., the Economic Times newspaper reported Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the talks. The British company has attracted interest from private equity firms Providence Equity Partners, Apax Partners and Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group, the report cited the people as saying. A potential deal for BT's stake in Tech Mahindra would also involve the telecom company's stake in Satyam Computer Services Ltd., the report said, adding that BT was waiting for a clearer picture on the fraud-hit company's financials before proceeding with the stake sale process. […]

Mastercard on Thursday said it has acquired 12.5 per cent stake in Pune-based third-party paymet services provider ElectraCard Services (ECS). However, financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “The investment in ECS bolsters Mastercard’s overarching global processing strategy by further extending Mastercard’s product offerings and enhancing services across the full spectrum of the processing value chain,” the company said in a statement. Mastercard expects to increase global revenues by 13-14 per cent each year for the next few years, higher than the 9-10 per cent growth forecast for the payments industry, said Ajay Banga, president and CEO, Mastercard Worldwide. “India is one of our fastest growing markets although it is not the fastest,” said Banga, during a press conference in Mumbai. “Europe is another region where we see good potential for growth.” […]

For the Patels of Ahmedabad, news about Paras Pharmaceuticals being put on the block has come as a shocker. Leaders of the community, originally farmers who became successful businessmen over generations, are loathe to the idea of a Gujarati company nurtured and built over so many years passing into the hands of people outside the community. “It hasn’t happened before. No big Gujarat-based company has ever been sold like this,” says Aroon Patel, who runs a small engineering unit in the city. In the backdrop of such strong local sentiments, Girish Patel’s nod to a deal between Actis and Sequoia Capital, two private equity firms who together own 70% shareholding, and an yet unknown suitor, seems a bit out of place. But it also brings to fore the perils of inducting PE firms on board, and the usefulness too. If Patel and his younger brother Devendra sell their 30% stake today, they will walk away with Rs 1,350 crore, on a total company valuation of Rs 4,500 crore. Considering that their father, Naranbhai Patel, had started the company with a seed capital of Rs 8 lakh, that would be a deal! […]