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TutorVista.com, the consumer online education services company, has raised $18 million from PE player Sequoia Capital and LightSpeed Venture Partners to fund its expansion into a hybrid (online-offline) education model. In addition, the company is in talks with strategic investors to raise another $15 million independently, for which it has filed an application with the FIPB. The two-and-a-half-year-old company acquired the Bangalore-based Edurite last November, and the current ramp up focuses on Edurite Tutorial, physical brick-n-mortar centers where students get scripted lessons through technology and teachers act as mere facilitators. Earlier, the company had planned to roll out several key initiatives like enhancing the Edurite product and services portfolio and also venture into new fields. “So six months back, when we looked at opportunities in India, we decided that we cannot apply the global model here,” says K Ganesh, CEO and founder of TutorVista.com, a company operating from 23 Indian cities with over 800-plus teachers who sit at home and teach over 10,000 students worldwide, largely in the US. […]
Yatra Capital, a Jersey-based private equity firm, will invest 4.4 million euros in an upcoming Taj hotel in Calcutta. Yatra Capital will acquire a 40 per cent stake in Jalan Intercontinental Hotels Private Limited, the company which is building the 200-room property. The hotel will be managed by Indian Hotels Limited under the Taj Gateway brand. Built over a 1.9-acre plot, the hotel will be located at the junction of the Rashbehari Connector and EM Bypass. Yatra Capital is the first Jersey-based company to be listed on Euronext, Amsterdam. Yatra invests in India through Mauritius-based fund — K2 Properties Limited. The hotel will cater to the needs of IT and ITeS companies located in Sector V of Salt Lake, Rajarhat and New Town. […]
In the midst of a general slow down in the Indian real estate market, TAIB Bank, a leading private bank based in Bahrain, has picked up a 26% stake in Anant Raj Projects for Rs 216 crore. The deal, one of the first Shari’ah-compliant transactions in the Indian real estate industry, puts the valuation of the subsidiary of New Delhi-based Anant Raj Industries (ARIL) at Rs 831 crore. TAIB Bank has routed the investment through its real estate investment arm Acacia Real Estate. Anand Raj Projects plans to develop of 600,000 sqft of retail space which is expected to be operational by first half of 2009. The proceeds of the transaction will be invested in this project. DTZ India, the Indian subsidiary of DTZ Holdings, and International Property Consultant were the advisors to the transaction. Confirming the development, ARIL executive director Amar Sarin said: “Though the real estate market is passing through a tough phase, the investors are still keen to invest in bankable projects. Our deal with Acacia reinforces the fact that in real estate and, especially, in retail sector, location still remains the fundamental value generator.” […]
Global financial giant JP Morgan Chase is investing Rs 130 crore for 33% stake in an SPV of realty firm Alok Infrastructure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mumbai-based textile maker and retailer Alok Industries, according to banking sources. Alok Infrastructure’s SPV, which is receiving the JP Morgan funding, will develop a realty project at a prime location in Mumbai. Alok Infra owns land at several prime locations in Mumbai, some of which it bought in high-profile transactions in the past one year. Alok Infrastructure had been in negotiations with some private equity players to offload equity in the main company. A falling stock market and a sluggish realty sector of late has, however, brought down the valuation of realty firms forcing Alok Infra, as many other realty companies, to go for investment at the project or SPV level. Alok Infra may be looking at raising more funds through private equity route for its different projects. […]
Mobile WiMax products and professional services provider Soma Networks on Friday said that it has secured an additional $51-million of equity financing. Investors include Daiwa Securities Group, Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Company, Ridgeway Capital Partners and India Knowledge Fund and SBICAPS, amongst others, a press release issued here stated. India Knowledge Fund is a private equity fund of Japan-based SBI Holdings Inc. The financing has been earmarked for continued expansion of international operations and deployments, including ongoing support of the industry's largest WiMax network with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Earlier this year, BSNL and Soma had announced an agreement to roll-out a mobile WiMax network across three of India's fastest-growing circles–Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa and Andhra Pradesh, the release said. […]
Controls & Switchgear Co today said it has raised Rs 100 crore through private equity funding from GE Commercial Finance India, which will be used for capacity expansions and to pursue inorganic growth avenues, among others. The firm is a manufacturer of power generation, distribution and protection products including low voltage switchgear and engineered power conductors. In a statement, Controls & Switchgear said the fund would used for capacity expansions to strengthen its R&D credentials and pursue inorganic growth opportunities. […]
Eastgate Capital Group is picking up an equity stake in financial services company Avendus Capital Pvt Ltd for Rs 100 crore. Eastgate is the private equity subsidiary of NCB Capital, the investment banking arm of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Saudi Arabia. Avendus Capital will use the fund to increase its presence in the institutional broking business. Ranu Vohra, managing director and CEO of Avendus Capital, said the team at Eastgate will help the company build its global network of relationships, particularly in West Asia, which is increasingly becoming the source of capital for many Indian firms He, however, did not disclose the precise equity stake that will be picked up by Eastgate. Avendus’ list of investors include Americorp Ventures and Anil Godhwani. […]
SpiceJet on Tuesday said the private equity firm led by billionaire Wilbur Ross will invest $80 million (about Rs 345 crore) in the low cost airline. The board of directors of SpiceJet has accepted an offer in-principle from the US-based PE firm that would make available about Rs 345 crore to SpiceJet, a joint statement issued by SpiceJet and WL Ross & Co said. “We are delighted to have WL Ross as an investor in SpiceJet. WL Ross is one of the largest and the most experienced investor in the world. With this investment, we have no doubt that SpiceJet will fulfill its promise of emerging as India's leading airline,” SpiceJet board member Bhulo Kansagra said. “We believe in the long term validity of the low cost airline model in India and that fuel prices eventually will stabilise,” Chairman & CEO, WL Ross & Co LLC Wilbur L Ross said. […]
Alliance Group, a Bangalore-based real estate developer, is planning to raise money via the private equity (PE) route to develop its land bank spread across five cities in south India. Declining to reveal the PE entity and amount being raised, Manoj Namburu, chairman and managing director of Alliance Group, said, “The group last week signed the term-sheet with a PE player and presently we are observing a 90-day gag order.” “The 10 per cent dilution will help us raise funds for our ongoing projects and develop new ones. The group currently has a land bank of 650 acres spread across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore and Mysore,” he added. The group last year raised Rs 600 crore in foreign direct investment from US-based Westport Capital for its special purpose vehicle (SPV) — Alliance Infrastructure Projects Private Limited — floated to develop its Hyderabad project. “The group, which is in the fourth year of its operations, has 13 projects in five cities valued around Rs 5,000 crore,” said Namburu. […]
Axis Private Equity today said it has invested Rs 60 crore in Hyderabad-headquartered Vishawa Infrastructure and Services (VIS). “We liked the entrepreneurial drive of the promoters who have built a successful and profitable business. Axis PE funds will enable them to scale up to become one of the top players in the water/sewage segment in the next few years,” Axis PE's Managing Director Alok Gupta said in a release here. VIS has a manufacturing facility near Hyderabad for production of pre-stressed concrete, reinforced concrete and mild steel pipes. Axis PE, an arm of Axis bank, is mandated to manage the private equity funds for the private-sector bank. It announced the first closure of Axis Infrastructure Fund at Rs 600 crore. The fund targets to raise Rs 2,000 crore. […]
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