|
|
Private equity (PE) investments in India have declined by 72 per cent to $9.67 billion till October, largely due to global financial turmoil. The total number of PE deals during the first 10 months of 2008 stands at 274, with an announced value of $9.67 billion as against 328 deals amounting to $13.43 billion during the corresponding period in 2007, global consulting major Grant Thornton said. “Private equity investments in India are showing some amount of slowdown, considering that a considerable amount of investments have been coming from international funds, which are in turn funded by international banks or investment banks,” Specialist Advisory Services Partner CG Srividya said. […]
Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of Singapore government, which has 9.9 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices, today said it is looking at all options, including exiting the telecom company in the wake of Japanese firm NTT Do Como picking up 26 per cent stake in the firm. “As of now, we remain an investor and we are always looking at all options. When the option is available we will look at it,” Temasek Holdings India Senior Managing Director Manish Kejriwal told reporters here on the sidelines of India Economic Summit here. He was responding to query if the Singaporean company is looking to exit from TTSL with the entering of a new shareholder NTT Do Como in the company. […]
Kingfisher Airlines is discussing with international carriers a possible sale of stake up to 25%, the Economic Times reported. The move follows the centre's proposal of policy change to allow foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers with a cap of just below 26%. The discussions are reportedly with British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Virgin as the investment is expected to fetch a higher valuation compared with the Private Equity investors. There remains uncertainty on when the government would permit foreign airlines to hold equity in Indian companies. The civil aviation ministry met the airlines on October 30 to discuss key policy changes including allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers. […]
India's private carrier Jet Airways has bagged a loan of INR10 billion from the Mubadala Development Co, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jet Airways has said that the loan will help fund the working capital needs and expansion plans of the company. The influx of funds is expected to aid the airline which is seeking additional funds to tide over the financial constraints caused by overdues to the state-owned oil marketers, airport authorities and operators. […]
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has ruled that foreign investment can flow into private equity funds registered as trusts. The move opens up another window of funds for private equity players and venture capital funds registered as trusts. The department of industrial policy & promotion (Dipp) was opposed to FDI in trusts, but FIPB has overruled the argument. This can lead to a new channel of investment for India Inc, especially start-ups. The FIPB’s view is that FDI can be permitted in trusts which intend to carry out PE investments, provided they register themselves as VC funds. Following the FIPB ruling, Dipp is now planning to introduce guidelines for allowing FDI in trusts that invest in companies, especially start-ups, with the aim of long term capital gains. Apart from mandatory registration with capital market regulator Sebi, the foreign investor will also have to comply with the know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines, a Dipp source said. […]
A double whammy of adverse market conditions and a depreciating rupee is expected to hasten the consolidation process within the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) space, say industry watchers. Many foreign players are likely to exit their investments altogether in the country, they point out. Alok Aggarwal, chairman and founder of Evalueserve, a firm that tracks PE and VC firms, expects nearly 20% of foreign PE and VC firms to pull out. “Out of 370 PE and VC firms active in India, about 260 are foreign players. With the financial market meltdown and rupee depreciation having dealt major blows to the PE industry, we expect 60 to 70 of them to exit the country within next 12 months,” he told ET. […]
Venture capital funds and private equity players continue to scout for investments in the Indian infrastructure sector but await Government initiatives to speed up investments, according to venture capital industry players. While there is continued interest from US and European investments funds in wide-ranging areas within infrastructure including airports, ports, roads and power projects, they want the Government, which is the main investor, to make first move. However, they warn that the overall investment during 2008 will come down compared to last year. While the exit options have come down due to market situation, the size of the deals and number of transactions will be lesser as investors are in a consolidation and wait and watch mode, according to Mr Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India. […]
PE firms are aggressively topping up earlier investments made in listed companies at a time when valuations are at a fraction of what they were a year ago. Among the big firms scooping up equity in listed entities to average out costs are ChrysCapital and Singapore-based Orient Global which have made direct secondary market investments. Also See Value Adds “There are some very attractive valuations. The corrections have taken place and depending on our investment thesis, we have an opportunity to take a position in listed companies, and top it up, too,” said Sanjiv Kaul, managing director of ChrysCapital, while declining to provide further details. Others such as Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd and Blackstone Group Lp. have also been buying, the only difference being that these have had some promoter-level engagements at an earlier stage. […]
Two private equity firms — US-based Berggruen Holdings and UK-based Cycladic Capital — have picked up close to 80% stake in construction equipment service provider Gemini Equipment and Rentals (GEAR) for around $15 million (nearly Rs 74 crore). “This is part of the first round capital-raising programme. The proceeds will be utilised for expansion,” said GEAR managing director Rajiv Sethi. The construction equipment industry is growing at the rate of 35% and is likely to expand fivefold by 2015. The critical role of the industry in the infrastructure development has opened huge opportunity for entrepreneurs to enter the construction equipment rental business. […]
Raman Roy-led Quatrro BPO Solutions is planning to raise $100-150 million from private equity firms to fund acquisitions. The company is particularly looking at a large buy, in the range of $200-300 million. “This is the right time to raise money. There are some very exciting assets available at reasonable prices. We don’t think debt is a viable option at this point. So, our acquisitions will be funded through equity stake sales,” said Quatrro MD Raman Roy. He refused to specify the quantum of funding. Quatrro is a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that provides finance and accounting services, legal solutions, mortgage solutions, risk management and business support services. […]
|
Post your messages.Please refrain from posting offensive messages. IndiaPE accepts no liability for the consequences of your reliance on these postings and messages.
|