A Bahraini real estate firm has acquired 49 per cent stake in an information technology park in Noida at a cost of USD 69 million. Acacia Real Estate, a company spearheaded by Bahrain-based TAIB Bank, has acquired 49 per cent of Logix TechnoPark located in Noida. “We are proud to be able to offer our clients this unique opportunity to invest in India's real estate market,” said Acacia executive committee board member and TAIB Bank chief executive and vice-chairman Iqbal Mamdani. With a projected internal rate of return of over 24 per cent per annum, the deal was structured to provide investors with downside protection and an average cash coupon of 8 per cent per annum over a three-year holding period, he said. […]

Private equity firm ICICI Venture has picked up a 14.9% stake in Mumbai-based textile and real estate development firm Arrow Webtex through a preferential allotment. The deal is estimated to be in the region of around Rs 130-140 crore. The transaction gives the private equity fund a stake marginally below the level which mandates an open offer for public listed firms in India. Arrow Webtex is engaged in the business of woven and printed labels, elastic tapes, apart from various activities related to real estate, hospitality and gaming business through its subsidiaries. For the quarter ending December 2007, it had consolidated net sales of Rs 46.03 crore with consolidated net profit of Rs 2.76 crore. The company has a market capitalisation of around Rs 645 crore. As per the disclosures made to the stock exchanges, ICICI Venture, which manages various private equity, real estate and mezzanine funds, has picked up around 2.03 crore shares through the allotment last week. If the deal was struck at the market price on the day, it would be valued at about Rs 132 crore. However, preferential allotments are usually done at a small premium. […]

Cleartrip Travel Services Pvt. Ltd has received a third round of funding of $18.5 million (Rs73.58 crore), which brings the total investment in the Mumbai-based travel company to $30.2 million. Venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson India Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd (DFJ) led the round with a $10 million investment—the firm’s largest in India. DFJ was joined by the Mahindra Group and all the four firms that had previously invested in Cleartrip. India’s travel portals have received a flurry of investment over the past two years since the sector came up in 2005. Since then, the industry has been moving towards consolidation, though the top players are yet to turn profitable. With this investment, Cleartrip joins New Delhi-based Makemytrip India Pvt. Ltd which also got a third round of funding in August. Both are aiming for profitability in 2008 and are on the road to an initial public offering in the next two years. India’s travel portals have received a flurry of investment over the past two years. […]

Prozone Liberty Capital is the retail real estate arm of Provogue in India. It is a joint venture between Prozone and Liberty International listed REITs on the London Stock Exchange Prozone now plans to dilute a further 25% stake through an SPV, which will hold four major shopping malls. These shopping malls are planned in Aurangabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, and Indore. The company has received a valuation of Rs 1,800 crore. Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj Property Consultants Pvt Ltd was the major valuator. They are now looking to raise Rs 450 crore. According to sources, large PE players who are interested include South Africa-based Old Mutual Property Investments; GIC, which is the fund raising arm of Government of Singapore; and Qatar Investment Authority. Most of these malls will be over a million sq ft. The Aurangabad mall itself is over two million sq ft and is already pre-leased to retailers like Shoppers’ Stop, Westside, Croma, and Reliance Home. The Indore mall is spread over four million sq ft and the deal is likely to be sealed by mid-March. Prozone also plans to develop 12 malls over the next 3-4 years. While they have received a valuation of Rs 1,800 crore for four malls, they have received a valuation of over USD 1 billion for the remaining eight malls, primarily in two tier cities like Mysore, Surat, and Raipur. […]

Delhi-based tier II realty player Eldeco Group is in discussions with AIG and Merrill Lynch for raising $200-250 million from a clutch of private equity (PE) investors. As part of the plan, Eldeco has already raised some funds from Xander PE. Sources said group company Eldeco Infrastructure & Properties (EIPL) was in the market for raising funds at the entity and special purpose vehicle (SPV) level for upcoming projects in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, in Punjab, and in two cities in Maharashtra. The company is also looking at raising funds through four SPVs and may be at the holding entity level as well. “We look at raising funds from time to time, but there is no need for us to comment on it,” said Eldeco CFO NK Ahuja. The company denied it was holding talks with the PE firms, and that it has raised funds from Xander. The move comes after the group’s earlier plans to merge the listed entity Eldeco Housing & Industries (EHIL) with EIPL and raise funds from the capital market was abandoned, sources said. Lucknow-based EHIL is a smaller group company compared to the privately-held EIPL, which has notched up 80% annualised growth since being incorporated in 2000. […]