|
|
Global drinks giant Diageo has emerged as a surprising contender for acquiring a stake in Karan Billimoria-led Cobra Beer. Sources said Diageo is in fairly advanced discussions with the UK-headquartered brewer to buy about 30% stake for about $100 million. The India-born international beer company is seeking a valuation of about $400 million. NM Rothschild is advising Cobra on its fund-raising plans, which have also attracted private equity biggies like Goldman Sachs. However, Diageo is seen as a serious suitor at the moment, sources added. Cobra Beer may decide on a suitor in the next few weeks. Diageo is the world’s largest drinks company and a predominant player in the spirits segment. But it has substantial interest in the brewing sector with iconic stout beer Guinness and specialty Irish beer Kilkenny. If the deal goes through, this will be one of the rare instances of Diageo taking a minority exposure in an alcoholic beverage company. Earlier this year, the drinks behemoth took 50% stake in the Netherlands-based super-premium vodka maker Ketel One for $900 million. […]
Rolta India Ltd, an information technology firm which specialises in geospatial information systems and high-end engineering, has finalised a deal to acquire a US-based company that specialises in business intelligence. The move is seen as the company's effort to bolster its enterprise information & communication technology business. “The business intelligence acquisition will enable us to offer various types of analytics over our existing ERP (enterprise resource planning) offering as well as over the GIS solutions. This would create a synergic mix of technology with intellectual property rights (IPR),” Kamal K Singh, chairman, Rolta India Ltd told DNA Money. […]
Dawnay Day International, the financial services unit of the UK-based Dawnay Day Group, has decided to sell its 50% stake in Dawnay Day AV, the joint venture financial services firm in India, after the turmoil in its global operations. The firm was set up in 2005 by Alok Vajpeyi, a high profile investment banker with DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd. The Indian venture offers stock broking, and sells mutual funds and insurance products of other firms. The firm is also exploring the possibility of setting up an asset management firm with a partner. “We have decided to build business with a new partner,” said Vajpeyi, who owns 25% stake in the venture. “I am not going to sell my stake. I will stay with my team.” The remainder 25% is owned by a trust of 1,700 employees working with the firm across 40 branches. A senior executive of Dawnay Day AV, who didn’t want to named, said the firm is in talks with Hyderabad-based Karvy Stock Broking Ltd and a few other large private equity investors. “The business valuations are still under negotiation,” the same executive said. At least two investment bankers, who did not wish to be named, said Vajpeyi, who is the vice-chairman and managing director of Dawnay Day AV, had talks with Karvy last year with a proposal to become a partner and expand the business. Vajpeyi declined to comment on this beyond saying: “We are talking to a few partners.” […]
Intel Capital, the venture capital unit of Nasdaq-listed Intel Corporation, on Thursday said it will invest US$17 million in three Indian companies and said it is bullish on the country's investment prospects. The three companies identified for investment are online travel portal Yatra.com, event-oriented social network BuzzInTown.com and advertising company Emnet Samsara Media. “We are rapidly investing in opportunities that we find suitable and are excited about investment prospects in the country,” Intel Capital President Arvind Sodhani said. The funding for the said investment would come from the US$250 million Intel Capital India Technology Fund. The fund has already invested US$125 million so far in the country, Sodhani said, adding that apart from investing in technology companies, the fund would also focus on alternate sources of energy. […]
iYogi, the Gurgaon-based B2C technology support provider, has secured a second-round funding of $9.5 million from a consortium of VCs led by SAP Ventures, a division of the German software major SAP. This is SAP Ventures first investment in India and the fund is close to investing in couple of other IT and ITeS companies in India. Other investors in iYogi include Canaan Partners and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) India Capital Partners. iYogi, a remote technical support provider with a customer base of over 50,000, primarily in the US, will use the funding to expand operations in new geographies, to increase execution capability, delivery of new services and to enhance its marketing effort. The company has 450 technical support staff and plans to ramp it up to 2,000 in the next couple of years. It has a unique offshoring model that focuses on providing technical support to individual retail customers (personal offshoring) rather than enterprise customers, as most BPOs do. […]
CDC Group, the UK government-backed private equity emerging markets fund of funds investor, has announced that it has made new commitments totaling $185m to six private equity funds focused on investment in India taking its total commitment to over $1 billion. It is expected that these funds will raise a total of over $2.47bn for investment in the region. CDC's latest commitments include $50m to Baring India Private Equity Fund III, $50m to New Silk Route Private Equity Asia Fund, $25m to India Value Fund III, $20m to BTS India Private Equity Fund, $20m to Avigo SME Fund II and another $20m to VentureEast Proactive Fund. A statement from CDC said private equity firms invested $17bn in India in 2007, more than double the amount invested in 2006 of $7.4bn. However, the majority of these deals remain later stage where more mature companies are attracting expansion or pre- IPO financing with a relatively small amount being invested in early stage deals. […]
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.” […]
Donald Trump Jr, whose father built a multibillion dollar fortune in real estate, plans to set up a fund of as much as $1 billion to buy property in India, betting on the nation's growing wealth. “Trump may create the privately held fund with investors including an Indian family,” he said. He didn't give specifics on how he'll raise the money, or when the first investment will be made. Trump would join Deutsche Bank AG and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc in amassing funds to invest in a market that recorded the world's highest growth in millionaires last year, fueling demand for luxury homes. The highest borrowing costs since 2002 have ended India's five-year property boom, curbing valuations of projects and developers. “The real estate market is in a downturn now,” said Ritesh Vohra, director of investments at Mumbai-based Saffron Asset Advisors, which manages more than $400 million in two property funds. “There's some more pain left over the next two years or so, and that could be an opportunity to invest.” […]
|
Post your messages.Please refrain from posting offensive messages. IndiaPE accepts no liability for the consequences of your reliance on these postings and messages.
|