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International Finance Corp (IFC), a World Bank arm, will invest $15 million in Mumbai-based pharmaceutical outsourcing company Hikal by way of equity participation. The equity will be offered on a preferential allotment basis to finance Hikal's expansion plans, the company said in a regulatory statement on Friday. Hikal specialises in crop protection products and specialty chemicals, and exports active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates to the US, Europe and Japan. […] Aviation entrepreneur G.R. Gopinath, founder of the country’s largest low-fare airline Simplifly Deccan (erstwhile Air Deccan), has mandated Mumbai-based investment banking firm Edelweiss Capital Ltd to seek out private-equity investors for his new cargo airline. Gopinath, who owns 100% of Deccan Cargo, plans to dilute up to 26% of his stake and eventually list the company to provide private equity investors an exit opportunity, said a person familiar with the development, asking not to be identified. Deccan Cargo plans to invest $200 million (about Rs863 crore) over the next three years, the person said. Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s second largest software exporter, has won the mandate to design and implement technology that will allow Deccan Cargo to offer online “track and trace” facilities for customers, and help cut costs, this person also added. […] Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL) has picked up equity in SMC Group companies, which holds SMC Global Securities Ltd and SAM Global Securities Ltd under its banner. Founded in 1990 by Subhash Chand Aggarwal and Mahesh Chand Gupta, SMC is a full financial services firm catering to all classes of investors. SMC offers services in brokerage, arbitrage, merchant banking, wealth management and is also involved in the distribution of retail products, such as insurance, IPO and mutual funds. It also offers special advisory services to HNIs and corporates. With a 2% stake in SMC Group, BCCL would now be invested in one of the largest retail investor networks in the country, serving over 450,000 investors, having added 150,000 customers last fiscal. The SMC Group has a network of more than 1,350 offices across 350 locations in India and an overseas office in Dubai. […] National Aluminium Company Ltd., or Nalco, a public sector enterprise of Government of India and the second largest aluminium producer, is likely to acquire 51% stake in Tajik Aluminium Company or Talco, a primary aluminium producer owned by the Tajikistan Government, for undisclosed sum, according to media reports. Sources said in a statement that NALCO has approached the Government with the proposal and awaits its approval. Sources added that the matter is also under consideration of the Tajik Government. Once the deal materializes, it will see the combine emerging as one of the world's top-three aluminium producers with an output of 8,00,000 metric tonnes or MT, the release stated. Talco located in Tursunzoda, a city in western Tajikistan, runs the largest aluminium manufacturing plant in central Asia and is one of Tajikistan's largest enterprises. In 2006, Talco produced 416,000 MT of aluminium. […] New York-based Clearwater Capital Partners on Thursday said it has invested USD 50 million (nearly Rs 200 crore) in a power equipment park that would be developed by Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd at Vadala. Clearwater has so far invested USD 500 million in 39 companies across India, which it considers a safe investment destination due to its legal framework that is absent in China, company's Managing Partner Robert Petty said here. He hoped to invest in more companies after operationalising of Indo-US nuclear deal. He said Clearwater currently manages 1.7 billion USD in assets across four funds and boasts of 86 team members across eight locations, including New York, Beijing, Hanoi, Hongkong, Mumbai, Munich, Seoul and Singapore. […] Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., is close to finalizing a share-swap deal with New Delhi-based low cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd., the Business Standard newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. SpiceJet's stockholders are expected to get one share of the merged entity for every three shares owned, the newspaper said today. SpiceJet, which planned to raise $100 million for fleet expansion, is yet to get investors, the newspaper said. Kingfisher Airlines, controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, operates India's biggest budget carrier Deccan Aviation Ltd. (Bloomberg) […] With a bearish phase prevailing over stock markets, valuations of private equity (PE) investments have taken a beating. Certain PEs which had overestimated companies to enter at high values have seen a decline in valuations due to volatile capital market conditions. A compilation of how PE investments of 2007 compare with current mark-to-market (MTM) values shows that about 58 percent of the PIPE (private investments in public enterprises) deals of 2007 are in the negative territory. According to the research undertaken by SMC Investment Solutions & Services (May 2008), the only ray of hope is that overall till-date-returns on PIPE deals of 2007 (on volume basis) are still in the positive, although at a margal 8.3 percent, despite rough market conditions of 2008. However, wealth creation is highly imbalanced in different sectors, with Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), telecom and retail sectors ducking the volatile capital market conditions. On the other hand, sectors like IT & ITeS, infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences, media, manufacturing and real estate are in the negative zone. […] UK-based Eredene Capital has picked up a 50% stake in Apeejay Infra-Logistics (AILPL), the infrastructure arm of Kolkata-based Apeejay Surrendra Group. The group is setting up a state-of-the-art logistics park in Haldia in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district. Eredene Capital has invested Sterling Pound 5.25 million or Rs 42 crore to pick up the 50% AILPL stake. This was confirmed by Abdul Wahid, the new chief executive officer of AILPL. Eredene Capital invests in infrastructure projects and in real estate development in India. It focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on logistics, distribution of warehouses and port services. Mr Wahid, who will be responsible for all infrastructure related activities of the Apeejay Surrendra group, has over 17 years of experience as a senior supply chain management professional. Speaking to ET, Mr Wahid said: “The Eredene group has picked up a 50% stake in APILPL at an investment of Rs 42 crore. The Eredene group has a crack team with core experience in real estate, infrastructure, ports and logistics and we see them as natural partners in the development project at Haldia. We look forward to working with them in this and other future projects as well.” […] In a sector that’s largely unorganised and dominated by family-run set ups, private equity and outdoor media owners are becoming strange bedfellows. But there’s also a catch — currently, most of the funding is going into newer players with interests beyond conventional media. Recently, Warburg Pincus invested about Rs 276 crore in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising company Laqshya Media. UTI Venture Funds, which is largely credited with identifying the sector, also invested an additional Rs 25 crore in the company taking the total investment to Rs 301 crore. The company had picked up a 15% stake in Laqshya for Rs 45 crore in October 2006. Earlier this year, another OOH media firm received funding to the tune of $50 million from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Media reports now suggest that ICICI Ventures, Lehman and Goldman Sachs have lined up plans to pick up around 15-20% stake in the Bangalore-based OOH advertising firm Serve & Volley for Rs 250 crore. […] The latest industry buzz is that a deal between Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) and South Africa’s MTN may be announced on Sunday, July 6, which is the death anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani. The speculation has gained currency because, in 2006, Anil Ambani had announced his interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Hutch Essar on the birth anniversary of his father. The 45-day exclusivity period for talks between RCom and MTN ends on July 8, and therefore, an announcement (either yes or no) could be announced anytime by then, sources pointed out. An extension of the exclusivity period, by as much as 30 days, cannot be ruled out either. Following the feud between the Ambani brothers, the deal structure is believed to have been changed between MTN and RCom, as first reported in this newspaper on June 27. Instead of a proposed merger between the two, RCom is now looking at acquiring below 35% stake in MTN, sources said. RCom may tie up with investors, including sovereign wealth funds, to buy a stake in MTN. […] |