Private equity fund Blackstone is set to pick up around 20% equity in FINO, a tech company that bankers say has huge potential because of its success in providing last-mile connectivity to those untouched by financial services. The talks which are at an advanced stage value the company at around Rs 700 crore after an investment of about Rs 140 crore. FINO was promoted in 2006 by lenders like ICICI Bank, which acted as an incubator for the fledgling business. The company was initially know as Financial Information Network and Operations and was launched under the leadership of Nachiket Mor, then deputy managing director of ICICI Bank. Its founder CEO Manish Khera was originally a joint general manager with ICICI Bank and its present chairman Sandeep Bakhshi is MD of ICICI Prudential Life. Other shareholders include Corporation Bank, HSBC , ICICI Lombard, IFC, IFMR Trust, Indian Bank, Intel, LIC and Union Bank. […]

Malaysia-based Navis Capital Partners has picked up a majority stake in automobile-decal and graphics-designer Classic Stripes (CSPL) for almost $100 million, said a person familiar with the development. Classic Stripes, a part of Astarc Group, is headquartered in Mumbai and has four manufacturing facilities in the country with a total production capacity of over 13 million automotive graphic-sets a year. […]

Private equity fund Apollo Global Management LLC will invest about $500 million in Indian steel pipe manufacturer Welspun group, marking the second biggest private equity investment in India this year as firms take advantage of the rapid growth in Asia's third largest economy. Private equity deals are rapidly growing in India, with firms such as 3i Group Plc and Blackstone Group scouting for new investment opportunities, and many others selling their holdings as valuations improve. India saw 61 private equity buyouts worth $3.3 billion in the first half of 2011, up 21.6 percent from the same period last year. And private equity-backed M&A in the first six months of 2011 was the highest for the first half of any year so far. Earlier this year, Bain Capital and GIC invested about $850 million in Hero Honda in the largest PE deal in India this year. […]

It's play time for theatres in Chennai, with one of them catching the attention of angel investors (names withheld). Evam Entertainment, an English theatre group, received a funding of Rs 40 lakh for its venture Sideways Training. Sideways provides training to corporate houses using theatre as a medium. It has already conducted workshops for IT majors such as Google, Cognizant and Sify. The funding – claimed to be the first for a playhouse – is significant considering such moves will help theatre as a sector to move away from a patronage-based to a revenue-generating model. Most theatre groups are sponsorshipdriven . “We are moving away from the sponsorship model,” says Karthik Kumar, co-founder of Evam, whose major productions include Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone. […]

Carlyle Group, the Washington-based private equity firm yesterday invested Rs112 crore ($25 million) in India's Visen Industries Ltd, a manufacturer of water-based polymer emulsions. Carlyle has invested the money from its $1.04 billion fund, FCV III, a part of its Asia Growth Partners IV (CAGP IV), which invests in invests in in key Asian markets such as India, Korea and China. “Visen's business is a play on the strong consumption led demand growth across paints, textiles, adhesives and construction in India and other emerging markets. Visen has a clear track record of growth and a well defined strategic roadmap for future expansion,” said Carlyle Asia Growth Capital head and managing director, Wayne Tsou in a statement. […]