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Arohi Asset Management, a Singapore based fund, is understood to have recently picked up 10 per cent stake in Mysore-based e-learning firm Excelsoft. Arohi is understood to have valued this Rs 60 crore firm at Rs 400 crore. This move by Arohi comes close on the heels of D E Shaw, a global private equity player picking up 35 per cent from UTI Ventures for $31 million, valuing the firm at Rs 350 crore. The management of Excelsoft were not available for comment. Post this move by Arohi, the promoters of Excelsoft currently hold 55 per cent. While details of Arohi is not clear, sources indicate that this firm manages a corpus of around $300 million. Excelsoft provides a range of customised learner-centric systems, test and assessment systems and desktop tools. […]
Leading private equity (PE) firms such as Blackstone, TPG, Blue River Capital, Actis and Silk Route are eyeing more than a 40% stake in agri-processing firm Usher Agro, it is learnt. The deal, if concluded, will pave the way for the PE investor to acquire management control with a majority stake. In that case, it will be third instance where a PE investor is taking control of a listed company in the recent past. Broad contours of the plan suggest that Usher will raise funds by issuing new shares to the PE investor. It will also sell shares of its four subsidiaries in the power, logistics, credit finance and oil and food segments. The promoters and some existing investors plan to sell some portions of their equity to encash their holding. […]
Hindujas-promoted IndusInd Bank has said it is looking to float a one bn dollar fund (about Rs 4,500 crore) for investments in India. “We are going to partner with Indian firms that are known in the capital market space and are in the process of floating funds of their own. It is going to be the Hinduja brand name alongside local firms,” promoter of the bank and Group Chairman S P Hinduja revealed here. “One of the things we are planning to do in Dubai is to offer an offshore fund for investment into India,” he said after the 15th Annual General Meeting of the IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (Mauritius). […]
Reliance Capital (R-Cap), an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm, is raising $1 billion (over Rs 4,600 crore) from foreign investors for its foray into the private equity business. The fund will invest in the Indian equity market after concluding the capital raising plan by December 2008, Sam Ghosh, chief executive officer, R-Cap, told Business Standard. “We have received necessary approvals for our private equity business. Now, we are in the process of raising funds. This fund will be used for all types of equity investments in the country,” Ghosh said. R-Cap recently forayed into institutional broking and asset reconstruction. According to Ghosh, these businesses received an overwhelming response from the market. […]
With over 60% of its second fund exhausted, Mumbai-based BTS Investment Advisors is gearing up to launch a third fund, titled BTS Fund II, by mid-2009. K Srinivas, managing partner, BTS Investment Advisors, said while the first and second funds were in the region of $22 million and $80 million respectively, the third fund is expected to be around $200 million. “As deal sizes increase from $1.2-3 million in 1997 to $7-8 million in 2005 and $12-15 million now, we are struggling to meet the funding requirements and have to bring in co-investors to serve the purpose,” he said. The third fund will also focus on SME group. “We would like to stay with it and maintain our dominance in that segment,” said Srinivas. […]
As Lehman Brothers Holdings, a U.S based investment banking firm has decided to file for bankruptcy protection in the US., India's third largest IT company Wipro and Copal Partners, a knowledge process outsourcing firm have expressed interest to acquire its back office business in India, reported Business Standard. Lehman currently owes over $600 billion to lenders. In this regard, the bank's offshore development center, which houses over 100 employees at Wipro is expected to close down. Sources said that Mumbai office also is expected to be shut down shortly. […]
A consortium of investors, led by private equity player 3i, is in talks to pick up a 4-4.5% equity stake in Adani Power for Rs 1,800 crore. The power company, which is majority-owned by Adani Enterprise, is in the process of floating an initial public offer (IPO) and the stake sale is a precursor to the public issue. The pre-IPO transaction will value Adani Power at nearly $10 billion, making it the most valued private sector power company in the country. The consortium of investors includes Singapore’s Temasek and an infrastructure fund, according to sources. The Adani Group spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. […]
Future Ventures India, the venture capital arm of Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group—owners of retail brands Big Bazaar and Pantaloon—, is close to acquiring a substantial stake in Kolkata-based apparel maker Turtle . Sources said a deal is expected shortly. A senior executive at Future Ventures confirmed that the due diligence was on. “Turtle is an exciting company and Future Ventures is in an advanced stage of discussion with them. However, it will be difficult to reveal the exact size of the deal,” he said. Turtle director Amit Ladsaria also confirmed that a deal was in the offing, but declined to comment on the plan. “The deal hasn’t been completed yet. We’ll be in a position to comment once that is done.” […]
Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy is likely to cost Indian real estate dear. It may impact the financial major’s existing investments worth $500 million in realty firms, including DLF and Unitech, besides drying up another $500-million worth of potential investment which was expected to flow into Unitech’s Mumbai projects. The news of Lehman’s collapse brought the BSE realty index down by 7.65% on Monday, while the benchmark Sensex declined 3.35%. Both DLF and Unitech fell 7.5%. Lehman’s fall signals a deepening of credit crisis for Indian developers, who have lately been battling falling sales, rising cost of construction and tightening credit. It is expected that the US-based firm is likely to go for a fire sale of its assets. Lehman invested $200 million in DLF promoter group company DLF Assets last year and bought 50% stake in Unitech’s Mumbai project for $175 million a few months ago. It had also invested $80 million in Bangalore-based SEZ Gandhi City and was likely to hike its share to $300 million. […]
The acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (BoA) could well lead to the combined entity emerging as a formidable force in India. Even as the deal is likely to be complimentary, the merger of operations would also lead to an overlap in the debt market and the primary dealership (PD) business. There is a sense of uncertainty among some of the senior staff in DSP ML — the Indian arm of Merrill regarding the impact of the merger in India. From DSP Merrill Lynch’s (DSPML) perspective, the acquisition would mean gaining a banking platform. In India, DSPML is a bigger player than BoA. ML has also been looking at obtaining a banking licence in the country. […]
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