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IBN18 Broadcast Ltd said on Wednesday its board has approved the acquisition of a 43.4 percent stake in Vaicom18 Media Pvt Ltd from a unit of Television Eighteen India Ltd for $62.5 million. With this acquisition, IBN will own 50 percent in Viacom18, it said in a statement to NSE. (Reuters) […] BIC SA, the eponymous French maker of pens and lighters, said on Thursday it was buying a 40 percent stake in India's Cello Pens for 124 million euros ($160 million), giving it a foothold in the growth market. BIC could raise its stake to 55 percent in 2013, it added in a statement. Cello Pens had 2007/08 sales of 64.5 million euros and a 30 percent operating margin. BIC said the deal would boost earnings per share from 2009. Cello was founded in 1995.(Reuters) […] Bahrain Telecommunications Co BTEL.BH (Batelco) said on Sunday it would buy 49 percent of Indian mobile telephone operator S Tel Ltd for $225 million, the latest in a string of recent acquisitions by Gulf operators. Batelco said it was partnering with Millennium Private Equity to acquire the stake in S Tel as it makes its first foray outside of the Middle East, where it operates in six countries. Last week, Emirates Telecommunications Corp ETEL.AD (Etisalat) said it was heading a consortium investing at least $1 billion to build a new mobile telephone network in Iran, and was in talks on an acquisition in Iraq. Qatar Telecommunications Co QTEL.QA said on Saturday it would begin tender offers for shares of Indonesia's PT Indosat to boost its stake to 65 percent, while Saudi Telecom Co 7010.SE said last week it was the sole bidder for Bahrain's third mobile phone licence. […] India’s second-biggest real estate developer Unitech is in talks with private equity (PE) funds for investments up to $560 million (Rs 2,750 crore). The realtor is also in negotiations with banks to restructure an additional Rs 500 crore of loans as part of its plan to cut debt and secure funding to complete existing projects, sources in the company said. The Gurgaon-based realty firm, whose stock is now trading at less than a tenth of its 52-week peak on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), plans to draw down $110 million (Rs 540 crore) from Unitech Real Estate International Fund to invest in its realty projects in the National Capital Region (NCR). When contacted, the company declined to comment on the development. […] India on Wednesday offered a 10 per cent stake in Petronet LNG Ltd, the state-run procurer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), to Qatar. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora made the offer to visiting Qatari deputy premier and energy minister, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, at a breakfast meeting here. The offer was made after the Arab kingdom agreed to increase LNG supply to India. Qatar has already assured additional supply of 600,000 tonnes of LNG to India, its largest customer. […] A group of investors, led by Vinay Chhajlani, CEO of Webdunia.com India Pvt Ltd, and Jehangir S Pocha, former editor of Businessworld, has bought INX News, the company that runs the English news channel NewsX. Chhajlani and Pocha have formed a company called Indi Media for the purpose. Though the size of the deal is not known, media industry sources peg it at roughly Rs 50 crore. Confirming the development, Peter Mukerjea, chairman of the INX group, told Business Standard: “We did not have the cash to continue funding the English news channel and were looking for an exit. We have now managed to do that.” However, INX continues to be in the broadcasting business through INX Media, which operates a music channel and a Hindi general entertainment channel. […] India-based ethnic wear retail chain Fabindia has acquired 25 per cent stake in the UK-based womenwear retailer EAST. Fabindia finance director Sunil Chainani will join the EAST board. Fabindia managing director William Bissell said, “The synergy between the two is apparent not only in the product but also in the approach and sourcing.” The aquisition amount has not been disclosed by Fabindia. However, the valuation could be on the lower side with the sales in UK decreasing. The investors in EAST include Luke Johnson, the Channel 4 chairman and John Singh of Jaipur. […] Software company Tech Mahindra today said it may evaluate the telecom business of the Satyam Computer Services for acquisition. “We are not interested in the whole company. We may be interested in its telecom business which forms a very small part of Satyam's entire portfolio if customers want us to,” the company spokesperson told PTI. He said the interest areas for Tech Mahindra could be taking over the telecom contracts and the employees associated with the vertical. […] Changi Airports International Pte Ltd (CAI), a unit of the owner of Singapore’s main airport, has purchased a 26% stake in a new airport project in eastern India. Changi Airports agreed to buy the stake in Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd in September last year, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation managing director Subrata Gupta said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. The airport project will cost about Rs10,000 crore, Gupta said. He declined to say how much Changi will pay for its stake.(Mint) […] BSEL Infrastructure Realty Ltd said on Wednesday it has sold its 17 percent stake in BW Highway Star Hotel project in Pune. It has sold 1.05 million shares to Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd for 79.41 million rupees and the balance shares to a unit of Unity Infraprojects Ltd ) for 70.58 million rupees, it said in a statement. The project was being developed by the BSEL in a joint venture with Unity and Kamat Hotel, it added.(Reuters) […] |