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Indian government's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is likely to start tracking the duration of investment, entry and exit patterns of private equity in India, the Economic Times reported, quoting unnamed sources. It however quoted a DIPP source as saying it will not resort to regulatory measures as this could send a wrong signal to investors. Many foreign private equity funds take over company managements rather than staying as only financial investors, with 10-15 pct stake, and the government will monitor the outcome of such management takeovers on the health of the company, the daily added. SEBI had earlier said overseas funds picking up controlling stake in listed Indian firms through the secondary market can lead to asset stripping as identities of many of the foreign investors involved with such funds are not disclosed and the ultimate source of funds is not verifiable, the paper noted. Private equity deals announced in 2007 amounted to 19.03 bln usd, of which Temasek accounted for 2.5 bln usd, the paper said. As many as 386 private equity deals were struck last year with major funds including Temasek, GIC, Blackstone Group , Warburg Pincus, Carlyle Group and Actis Capital the paper said.(Forbes) […]
Disney will acquire an additional 17% for around Rs8.05bn. Disney presently holds 14.85% in UTV Software. It will also make an open offer for 20% more Shares of UTV Software Communications Ltd. climbed on Monday after Walt Disney Co. said it would acquire a majority stake in the Indian media and entertainment company. The US media major is also likely to pick up a minority stake in UTV's new broadcasting venture. As per the agreement, Disney will acquire an additional 93,52,500 shares of UTV Software at a price of Rs860.79. The total investment by Disney in UTV Software would be around Rs8.05bn. Disney presently holds 34,00,000 shares, representing 14.85% of the equity share capital of UTV Software. UTV will also issue on a preferential basis of 45,32,000 warrants convertible into equal number of equity shares to Unilazer Exports & Management Consultants Ltd., one of the promoter group entity at a price of Rs860.79. The total investment by Unilazer in UTV Software would be around Rs3.9bn. UTV Software will issue shares against warrants, subject to receipt of the FIPB approval. […]
State Bank of India's subsidiary SBI Capital Markets plans to set up a $100 million (about Rs 400 crore) venture capital (VC) fund to invest in knowledge-based sectors in the country. The SBI Capital Markets has already entered into a 50:50 joint venture Softbank Investment Holdings of Japan for the fund. The India Knowledge Fund will target specific India sectors including IT, knowledge process outsourcing, clinical research outsourcing, nanotechnology, online and mobile businesses, environmental technology and alternative energy, SBI said in its letter of offer filed with SEBI for its forthcoming Rs 16,736 crore rights issue. The fund will invest primarily in unlisted, high growth companies through initial investments ranging from $3 million to $10 million. India Knowledge Fund will be co-managed by both SBI Capital Markets and Softbank Investment Holdings. […]
The legendary buyout fund firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is setting up its operations in India, and hunting for its head honcho. The fact that KKR is setting up office here, two years after it announced its first deal by purchasing a 85% stake in Flextronics for $900 million, speaks a lot about India’s prospects in attracting private equity (PE) investments. Since inception in 1976, the fund has done over 150 deals through its offices in New York, Menlo Park, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, and the list does not include China, India’s closest rival in receiving PE investments. An almost dead IPO market and RBI’s stringent norms for raising money through external commercial borrowings and foreign currency convertible bonds are expected to push India ahead of China in the PE space this year, said Rishi Sahai, director, IndusView, which advises MNCs on business opportunities emanating in India. Last year, India made a coup of sorts by overtaking China in PE investments. The trend continues this year. In January, India got PE investments worth $1.2 billion, surpassing Asian giants like China ($609 million) and Japan ($980 million), according to a report by the Asian Venture Capital Journal. Mr Sahai said India’s numbers stood at $1.3 billion against China’s $375 million. Industry experts expect that the country will end up having PE money of $25 billion this year and $50 billion in 2010. […]
Acquisition to help dairy major gain toehold in South, access natural vanilla for ice-cream. Cooperative dairy products manufacturer Amul plans to buy Kochi-based Vanilla India Producers Company (Vanilco), which processes and markets natural vanilla. The acquisition will help the dairy major gain a foothold in the southern markets and secure natural vanilla stocks ahead of a launch of natural vanilla-based ice creams in March. Vanilco Managing Director Paul Jose said the companies had received in-principle approval for equity participation. Further rounds of discussion will take place after the launch. “There is strong possibility for the equity participation leading to a merger of the two companies. The amount of investment and other details will be decided later. I don’t think that there are many hurdles to this as Amul is one of India’s top consumer companies,” Jose said in a telephonic interview. Vanilco, a company formed in 2003 by 2,500 vanilla growers, already has an agreement with Amul to supply it 20 tonnes of natural vanilla essence annually, mainly for the Real Vanilla ice cream range. […]
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications is looking for a possible takeover of French IT services group Capgemini, a report in the online edition of The Times on Thursday said. When contacted by media, a Reliance Communications spokesperson declined to comment. The report said that Reliance Communications has held early-stage talks with Capgemini. Quoting sources, the report said, “Times Online can reveal the French-based group has met with Reliance Communications, the technology and telecoms arm of Anil Ambani's Reliance ADAG group in recent months.” “The initial discussions failed to make progress after the parties could not agree on a price,” it added. According to the report, Reliance Communication's interest confirms Ambani's hopes to build a significant IT business. “A move on Capgemini would give it access to a client base in continental Europe and catapult it among the world's top ten IT groups by market share,” it said. In recent months, there were also reports that Capgemini had held talks with India's leading IT firms Wipro and Infosys on a possible takeover. However, the rumours were denied by Wipro and Infosys later. […]
A Bangalore-based startup Aujas Networks Pvt Ltd, has recieved $3 million funding from IDG Ventures India. Aujas, a provider of digital security services, plans to utilise the investment to build its sales presence in India, Middle East, Europe, Asia Pac, and North America, and to enhance its service offering development initiatives. Aujas offers security services across a range of technologies, including core wireless networks, VoIP and cyber forensics. It also offers specialised domain specific security services in telecom and BFSI sectors. “The successful closure of this deal with a keenly short listed A-grade founding team validates the potential of our Entrepreneur-In-Residence model. Aujas is our second investment in the promising information security space. The company has hit the ground running with a channel partnership MoU already inked with iViZ, our first investment in information security software product sector from India,” said Sudhir Sethi, founder, chairman and managing director, IDG Ventures India. […]
The New York Stock Exchange will buy a 5 percent stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd., the nation's biggest commodity bourse, the Economic Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The stake acquisition may be announced later this week and comes after the government's decision last month to cap foreign investment in commodity exchanges at 49 percent, the newspaper reported. Joseph Massey, deputy managing director of the Multi Commodity Exchange declined to comment. The exchange will hold a news conference to announce a global strategic initiative, an e- mailed invitation from the company said late yesterday. MCX is the world's third-biggest gold bourse and accounts for more than four-fifths of gold futures traded in the South Asian nation. Fidelity International Ltd. has a 9 percent stake in the exchange, while Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. own 5 percent each. (Bloomberg) […]
Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and Farallon Capital Management LLC invested a combined $399 million in a power unit of Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd., India's fourth- biggest developer by market value. The developer, partly owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., said it sold 37.5 percent of Sophia Power Company Ltd. Farallon will buy 23.4 percent and Mittal will buy the rest, the company said in an e-mailed statement from Mumbai. Indiabulls is investing more in electricity as the nation seeks funds to bolster power generation, roads and ports to sustain a 9 percent target for economic growth. The world's fastest-growing major economy after China faces a peak electricity shortage of 13 percent and plans to add 78,577 megawatts of capacity in the five years to March 2012. The combined stake bought by Mittal and Farallon will drop to 28.6 percent after a proposed merger between Sophia Power and Indiabulls Power Services Ltd., a fully owned unit of Indiabulls Real Estate, said Ajit Mittal, head of investor relations at Indiabulls Real Estate, in a telephone interview. Indiabulls Real Estate may raise $1.2 billion selling shares in a proposed investment trust to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, two people familiar with the sale said earlier this month. […]
Renaissance Jewellery, a diamond jewellery manufacturer, has acquired the business and assets of JBR, a jewellery wholesaler based in New York for a total consideration of $40 million through its subsidiary “Renaissance Jewelry New York” in US. JBR having a total annual sales of $70 mn is likely to add to the company's turnover and net profit substantially. “As of now we were selling directly to our retail customers in the US like Walmart from India. But, the acquisition of JBR will give us a competitive edge in addition to help us consolidate our business in the world's largest jewellery sales market,” said Sumit Shah, managing director of Renaissance Jewellery. (Business Standard) […]
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