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When the promotor family of retail chain Nilgiris dragged the private equity (PE) investor, Actis, to the Company Law Board (CLB), it was the culmination of a dispute that had been simmering for nearly two years. The differences related to many aspects of the business, starting with the pace of expansion to the kind of merchandise the stores should sell. Nilgiris, present in South India for close to 100 years, divested 65 per cent to the UK-based fund for $65 million nearly three years ago. This was after bitter differences among the family members on whether a PE investor should come on board. The story of Indian family businesses running into trouble with their PE investors is not new. Industry watchers say that while no specific reason can be given, these tensions are inherent in the difference between the way traditional families run businesses and the approach of global PE investors, who have their own systems and procedures. […]
INDIA is investing US$1.35 billion (S$1.9 billion) in gas projects in military-ruled Myanmar, the two governments have announced, as the neighbouring nations pursue closer economic and diplomatic ties. India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Gas Authority of India Ltd (Gail) will spend US$1.1 billion on rights to develop two gas field blocks and US$250 million on a connecting pipeline, India's energy ministry said in a statement.The other US$250-million investment gives India a 12.5-per cent stake in a US$2-billion pipeline being built by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China's top oil producer. The first gas is expected in early 2013. ONGC will spend US$167.8 million while Gail will invest US$83.8 million in the 771-kilometre (480-mile) pipeline which will transport gas from the two blocks off the Myanmar coast to China. […]
Telecommunication Consultants of India Ltd., or TCIL, Wednesday invited expressions of interest for the sale of its entire 30% stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd. through an open bidding process. The rest of Bharti Hexacom is owned by Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY), which will get first right of refusal, said TCIL. Bharti Hexacom provides telephony and related services in the Rajasthan state and in India's north-east region as well. […]
Career Launcher India Ltd., a Delhi-based education service provider, has invested $1 million (Rs 4.5 crore) in 361 Degree Minds Consulting Pvt Ltd., a Chennai-based research and technology company, to provide large-scale innovative and inventive solutions in the education and training system. The founders of 361 Degree Minds, C. P. Gopinathan and P. Rammohan, said it was the first round of funding from Career Launcher. Another $1 to $2 million was expected to come in the second round after six months. On the whole, Mr. Gopinathan said Career Launcher had taken only a significant minority stake in 361 Degree Minds. However, the founders did not reveal the exact stake taken by company due to non-disclosure agreement. […]
Leading foreign institutional investor Fidelity International is said to have sold around 2% stake in MCX to Passport India, an existing shareholder in the commodity bourse, according to market sources. The sale is in keeping with government norms that restrict a single foreign investor’s shareholding in a commodity bourse to 5% by March 31, 2010. With this, Fidelity’s stake will come down to 7% while Passport India’s shareholding in MCX will rise to 5%. No confirmation was available on the pricing of the transaction. Fidelity had picked up around 9% in MCX in 2006 for $49 million, valuing the exchange at around $540 million. When NYSE picked up a 5% stake in MCX in 2008, the exchange was valued at $1.1 billion. When contacted, officials from MCX and Fidelity declined to confirm the development. […]
Bharti Airtel on Thursday held out the possibility of issuing fresh shares or divesting its holding in telecom infrastructurecompanies to lighten the burden of debt it must assume to fund its planned acquisition of most of the African operations of Kuwait’s Zain Telecom. Top executives at India’s largest mobile phone firm told analysts in a conference call that the purchase would be funded by medium-term debt — loans with maturity period between 1 and 10 years — which will then be repaid with money generated from operations as well as a likely equity issuance. A final deal is expected to be clinched by end-April or mid-May. “If we close the deal with full debt, it will still be at a sensible level. But we are debt-averse and will use a combination of free cash flow and equity to repay debt. […]
The country is likely to get several more new generation private banks with the finance minister announcing that RBI is considering new bank licenses to promoters in the private sector and also NBFCs if they meet RBI eligibility criteria. A host of Indian corporates likes Tatas, Birla group, and some of the older NBFCs have been interested in a banking licenses. Among finance companies, Reliance Capital and Indiabulls have announced their interest in getting into banking. Lenders such as Exim Bank and SIDBI were also interested in a banking licence. If such a move happens this would be the first time post 2002 that RBI would look at such a move. […]
The government has offered a 10-per cent stake in the upcoming Paradip refinery of state-run Indian Oil Corp to Saudi Aramco for about $650 million, a government official told reporters on Thursday. The official, who did not wish to be a named, said Indian firms currently buy 25 million tonnes of crude oil annually from Saudi Aramco. “Historically, the Saudis have been interested in investing in refineries and distribution, but distribution at the moment in India is not viable (due to government-regulated fuel prices),” he said. India has recently sent a proposal offering stake in IOC's 300,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) coastal refinery in eastern India and the discussions would continue during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Saudi Arabia from February 27, the official said. […]
Manipal Universal Learning, the corporate education arm of the education-cum-healthcare Manipal Group, said on Tuesday it had raised Rs200-crore ($43.3 million) in private equity investment from PremjiInvest. PremjiInvest is a $1-billion fund promoted by Wipro Group chairman Azim Premji. According to Manipal Universal CEO Anand Sudarshan PremjiInvest, together with several other PE investors in Manipal Universal-Capital International and IDFC Private Equity would hold a hold a significant minority stake in the firm. The firm had received substantial investments to the tune of $40 million and $30 million from Capital International and IDFC around three years ago. Sudarshan said the funds would go towards building a new campus in Dubai, expansion of the Antigua campus, the dental stream in Malaysia and upgradation of technology for next-generation virtual and distance-learning education system, EduNxt for which capital outlays of around $82-$90 million would be required. […]
The venture capital industry has demanded tax concessions for specific sectors and better clarity on some specific policies governing the VC industry in the upcoming Budget to help boost “innovative” firms in India. “As we approach the Union Budget for 2010, we urge the ministry to clarify or improvise some specific policies governing the VC industry,” said Mr Harshal Shah, CEO, Reliance Venture Asset Management. Mr Shah further said that the current Foreign Ventur e Capital Investor guideline is unclear about investing in sectors beyond a few shortlisted ones namely biotechnology, nanotechnology, IT hardware and software, research and development for new chemical entities, seed research, dairy, poultry, bio-fuels and large hotel-cum-convention centres. […]
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