Sugar and nutraceuticals major EID Parry (India) Ltd, part of the Murugappa group, has acquired 48% stake in the Florida-based US Nutraceuticals, LLC, a privately-held company, for a consideration of $9 million. The US company is engaged in the nutraceuticals business under the name of Valensa International and its turnover is estimated to be around $8 million to $9 million. The deal makes EID Parry will become the major shareholder of the company, said D Kumaraswamy, President (Bio, Nutraceuticals & Corporate Affairs), EID Parry. […]

Packaging firm Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd said on Wednesday it has acquired a majority stake in ailing India Foils Ltd , a Vedanta Group firm. Ess Dee, which makes packaging products for drugmakers and fast moving consumer goods, said it has invested about 1.2 billion rupees in India Foils for a 85-90 percent stake. “It will be reasonable to expect that whatever Ess Dee's turnover is in 2008/09, you should see (that) more than doubling next year,” Ess Dee's director Debdeep Bhattacharya said at a media briefing. For 2008/09, the company would maintain the kind of growth seen in the last quarter, he added. For July-September, Ess Dee's net profit grew 56 percent to 229.3 million rupees, while revenue surged 70 percent to 1.24 billion rupees. […]

Kingfisher Airlines is discussing with international carriers a possible sale of stake up to 25%, the Economic Times reported. The move follows the centre's proposal of policy change to allow foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers with a cap of just below 26%. The discussions are reportedly with British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Virgin as the investment is expected to fetch a higher valuation compared with the Private Equity investors. There remains uncertainty on when the government would permit foreign airlines to hold equity in Indian companies. The civil aviation ministry met the airlines on October 30 to discuss key policy changes including allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers. […]

Raman Roy-led Quatrro BPO Solutions is planning to raise $100-150 million from private equity firms to fund acquisitions. The company is particularly looking at a large buy, in the range of $200-300 million. “This is the right time to raise money. There are some very exciting assets available at reasonable prices. We don’t think debt is a viable option at this point. So, our acquisitions will be funded through equity stake sales,” said Quatrro MD Raman Roy. He refused to specify the quantum of funding. Quatrro is a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that provides finance and accounting services, legal solutions, mortgage solutions, risk management and business support services. […]

United Spirits (USL) the flagship company of Vijay Mallya has entered into exclusive talks with the world`s largest drinks company, Diageo, for a partnership including a minority stake sale, reports Economic Times. It is learnt that a top Diageo`s team arrived in Mumbai for talks with Mallya and the United Spirits honchos. Diageo could buy 14.99% stake initially and enter the USL board with two representations, besides a distribution partnership in the Indian market. […]