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New York-based JC Flowers, one of the world’s largest private equity firm focused solely on the financial services sector, has picked up 36 per cent stake in the State Industrial Corporation of Maharashtra (Sicom), the investment arm of the Maharashtra government, for close to Rs 350 crore. The deal values Sicom at Rs 972 crore. Sources said JC Flowers won the bid for the stake, which was put up for sale early this year by the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI or UTI-1). SUUTI had invited bids from financial and strategic investors for selling its stake in Sicom. The other two contenders for the stake were L&T Infrastructure and another US-based private fund. Sources said for JC Flowers this was a good investment as Sicom, as an NBFC (non-banking financial company) had the rights to confiscate assets in case of defaults. […]
Subhash Chandra's Essel Sports is looking at raising up to Rs 200 crore by divesting 25 per cent to private equity companies to finance its troubled Indian Cricket League (ICL) and other domestic cricket projects. Confirming this, Asish Kaul, executive vice-president of Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd and Essel Group spokesperson, said: “Several companies have come forward to associate themselves with Essel Sports. Indian and foreign institutional investors have also shown interest in being equity partners.” He added that no decision has been taken yet since “the company’s focus has been to get ICL off the ground”. The move comes at a time when the high-profile ICL is to begin from December 1 in Chandigarh with six teams playing against each other. […]
Indiareit Fund Advisors, the venture capital firm controlled by the Piramal Group, plans to invest in a housing project along Mumbai's eastern coast, seeking to overcome a land shortage and rising prices in the city center. Mumbai-based Indiareit will invest 1.5 billion rupees ($38 million) in Samira Habitats, a company that's developing luxury villas and apartments in Alibag, on the mainland across from the Mumbai island, Managing Director Ramesh Jogani said in an interview yesterday. “It will be a way out of Mumbai's congested infrastructure,'' Jogani said. “The projects will make Alibag a base of primary homes, instead of holiday and weekend homes as in the past.'' Residential prices in south Mumbai have more than doubled in the past three years, as India's booming economy bolstered the spending power of local residents and prompted overseas companies to bring in workers. Mumbai also has the second- priciest offices in the world after London, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.'s semi-annual Global Market Rents survey. […]
Leading private equity and hedge funds D E Shaw, Rand Corporation of South Africa-promoted proprietary fund Satwa based in Hong Kong and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) have collectively bought 10 per cent in Argentum Motors. Argentum Motors is a company floated by B V R Subbu, former president of Hyundai Motors India, Ajay Singh, promoter of budget airline Spicejet, and Ashish Deora, who runs a broadband company. The company took over the Daewoo Motors India factory near Delhi, which shut shop four years ago, for Rs 800 crore and is planning to set up one of the country’s largest auto ancillary units and function as a third-party manufacturer for auto companies. The three funds have collectively forked out Rs 200 crore for the 10 per cent stake and have also provided the company a loan worth Rs 100 crore. […]
Global real estate majors such as Dubai World, Trump Organisation of US, Smart City of Dubai, Kishimoto Gordon Dalaya, Khuyool Investments, Bonyan Holding, Plus Properties, ABG Group and Al Fara’s Properties are descending on the Indian real estate market with an investment of around $20-25 billion in the next 12-18 months. Top-level management teams of around 50 global developers are currently in India scouting for joint venture partners and tie-ups with various state governments to enter one of the booming property market in the world. Officials close to the developments said that over 200 meetings were held between the representatives of foreign real estate firms and Indian companies and over a dozen JVs are in the final stages. DAMAC Holding (a Dubai-based leading real estate firm ) chairman and founder Hussain Sajwani said they have firmed up plans to invest around $3-5 billion in the Indian market. “We are in negotiations with various Indian developers for a possible joint venture, and hope to enter the market in the next 12 months,” he said. […]
India''s Fortis Financial Services Ltd said it has a acquired a 76 pct stake in Australia-based capital market software provider, Capital Market Solutions Pvt Ltd, for an undisclosed sum. Fortis said it made the acquisition through two special-purpose vehicles, Regius Infotech Pvt Ltd and Regius Overseas Holding Co, created specifically for this purpose. The company also said it had settled its court case against Netherlands-based Fortis NV for using the word ''Fortis'' for all its activities except for financial products and services. (Euro Today) […]
The Board of Directors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), the second largest housing finance company in the private sector in India, on Tuesday announced the approval of 19.9% stake in Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt. Ltd. Wadhawan Food Retail is the retail arm of the Wadhawan Group which operates more than 90 food and grocery stores and 6 home decor stores across India. “The food and grocery segment accounts for 63% of the total retail expenditure. Out of this, 11% is organized retailing. This represents a big opportunity for us to invest in Wadhawan Food Retail, which has huge expansion plans of opening 1,500 stores in the next 4-5 years,” said Kapil Wadhawan, Vice Chairman and MD, DHFL. […]
ING Investment Management India has launched a global real estate fund that will invest in REITs and real estate operating companies abroad. It is an open-ended feeder fund that will primarily invest in Cayman Islands and is registered as ING Global Real Estate Securities Fund. The fund will invest in global property markets. ING Clarion Real Estate Securities will be sub-advisor to the fund. The fund will have a large allocation to Asia-Pacific followed by North America and Europe. In selecting investments for the fund, the investment manager seeks out companies that derive at least 50 per cent of their total revenues or earnings from owning, operating, developing and/or managing real estate. […]
E-governance services firm Comat Technologies has raised about $8-10 million from Avigo Capital in its second round of funding. Earlier this year, the firm had raised around $4 million from Intel Capital in what was the chipmaker’s first strategic investment in the e-governance space. Mauritius-based Avigo Capital Partners (Avigo) is an independent private equity firm with a focus on investments in the SME sector in India. Its earlier investments have been primarily in traditional sectors and portfolio companies including Tecpro Systems, Privi Organics, Get Engineering & Construction and Spykar Lifestyles. Comat Technologies president Sriram Raghavan told ET: “The money will be used mainly for setting up of e-governance kiosks and platform innovation.” Investment bank 03 Capital advised Comat in sealing up the transaction. It is learnt that the latest fund raising values Comat at $70-80 million. Comat is believed to have a turnover of around $10-15 million. […]
Over the last year or two, they have been the target of policy change agents in the West. With their investment numbers swelling by the day, private equity, which has been dubbed by some of its adversaries as the new barbarians, is set to come under greater scrutiny in the markets here just as it is in the UK and Europe. India’s financial regulators — RBI and SEBI — and the government are expected to sit together to consider the approach to adopt towards this asset class. The banking regulator has already indicated to the government its uneasiness about PE in certain segments. Like in the US and some other markets, regulation is yet to embrace buyout funds or PE as they are popularly known here. But with the growth in their size and the perception of such funds operating in a twilight zone away from regulatory glare (considering that requirements of registration with regulators are not mandated), policymakers appear to be on course to take a close look at their operations. It sounds strange, but it is a fact that policy managers in India are yet to collate the figures of PE funds in India to ascertain in which sectors and firms the buyout funds are pouring money into. They appear to be in good company. In many other jurisdictions, too, the availability of quantitative data is limited. Policy prescriptions need to wait until then, those associated with the exercise say. […]
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