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Baer Capital Partners, a Dubai-based funds management company, plans to raise $500 million to invest in real estate and infrastructure in India, the world's fastest growing major economy after China. The firm will begin investing in India in the second quarter of next year after tapping investors outside India in early 2008, Alok Sama, president of Baer Capital, said in an interview in Mumbai. “It's critical for India's economic development that infrastructure is increased sharply,'' said Pauli Laursen, who manages $800 million at Sydinvest Asset Management at Aabenraa in Denmark and holds shares of Indian companies including Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. “India needs money from all over for its infrastructure.'' India requires half a trillion dollars of investment in infrastructure including roads and power plants during the next five years as it aims to lift growth in its $906 billion economy to 10 percent by 2012. Baer Capital joins JPMorgan Chase & Co., 3i Group, Blackstone Group and Citigroup Inc. in planning to invest funds from overseas in Indian companies building roads, ports and electricity plants. […]
In the first of its kind among property consultants, the UK-headquartered Knight Frank Group will launch a $250 million India-focused real estate fund. According to sources in the know, the offshore fund will raise investments from high net worth individuals and other investors from the UK and will have an investment threshold of $0.5 million and above. However, employees of the consultancy can invest smaller limits and the fund will invest in FDI-complaint projects in the country, according to sources. The fund-raising is expected to begin by January 2008 and will close in a couple of months. Rutley Capital Partners (RCP), Knight Frank's real estate private equity and investment management arm, is expected to spearhead the launch of the India fund. However, an e-mailed questionnaire to Robert Hannington, managing partner, RCP, did not elicit any response. […]
Denmark-based beer manufacturer Carlsberg has acquired a 60 per cent stake in Parag Breweries. This is expected to increase Carlsberg’s capacity by 1.6 lakh hecta litres (hl). Joakim Sande, marketing director of South Asia Breweries, through which Carlsberg operates in India, said, “We are looking for a stronghold in the eastern market. Parag Breweries in Bengal proved to be a great opportunity. We will start production there in the first quarter of 2008.” South Asia Breweries is a joint venture between Carlsberg, Denmark’s Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and a group of investors. Carlsberg has a 45 per cent stake in South Asia Breweries, the IFU holds 10 per cent, while a group of investors, led by Carlsberg’s Sri Lankan partner Lion Brewery Ceylon Ltd, hold the rest. […]
India’s private equity story is getting bigger even as the global credit crunch is squeezing the funds mopup globally. It is believed that private equity funds are in the midst of raising a jaw-dropping $48 billion for the Indian market by 2010. And the way the Indian economy is growing, experts opine the figure could be bigger. “Since 2003, the Indian economy is growing at 8–9% annually in real terms and at 13–15% in nominal terms (including inflation). Some sectors (services and high-end manufacturing) are growing at 10–14% in real terms and 15–20% in nominal terms, thereby attracting VC-PE investment. If this kind of growth continues, the economy can easily absorb $60 billion during 2007–10 and as much as $500 billion during 2007–20,”’ according to Evalueserve chairman Alok Aggarwal. Several PE firms would be willing to invest even more if they saw good investment opportunities, he added. […]
Network services major GTL has acquired a Malaysia-based network planning and optimisation company, ADA Cellworks, in an all-cash deal of $25 million (around Rs 100 crore). The acquisition will conclude in the next few weeks. “With this, we have progressed on our inorganic growth strategy and strengthened our presence in the high value segments of network planning and optimisation,” GTL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Tirodkar said. The acquisition will also result in access to markets in China, Indonesia and South-East Asia. This will also strengthen relationships with leading telecom technology providers such as Nokia Siemens Networks, Alcatel Lucent, Motorola, Ericsson and Huawei, he added. […]
To measure media growth, advertising spends as a ratio of private consumption rather than GDP (gross domestic product) is a much better indicator. In the next five years, India’s ad expenditure as a ratio of private consumption will be 1.2 per cent,” according to Akhil Gupta, chairman and managing director of Blackstone Advisors India Private Limited. Gupta was speaking at a conference organised by the International Newspaper Marketing Association in New Delhi. Traditionally, all markets measure advertising expenditure as a ratio of GDP and India’s current ad spends, at .34 per cent of GDP, are much below the one per cent average clocked by developed countries. According to Gupta, India’s media industry is at an inflexion point and is expected to see an explosion in advertising. “For private equity investors, the media is right at the top and a favoured investment opportunity only after infrastructure,” he said, adding that the challenge will be to grow print media’s share from the current 45 per cent of total advertising. […]
Power trading firm PTC India’s proposal to rope in foreign investors for its financial services arm is expected to come up for Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval during the board’s next meeting on November 16. It’s understood that the PTC proposal includes allowing two private equity (PE) majors — Goldman Sachs and Macquarie — to acquire 40% equity in PTC Financial Services (PFS). PTC would retain the remaining 60% in PFS. Though the names of the two players have been kept under wraps by PTC, pending FIPB clearance, sources said both the PE players would pick up 20% stake each in the company. The deal is expected to be in the region of Rs 120 crore. An agreement on the terms and conditions of the deal has already been reached, but a formal announcement is expected only by the month-end. ET first reported about the deal with private equity players last month. […]
In a sign that environment-protection businesses in India are becoming attractive for investment, venture capital firm UTI Ventures has invested $8 million in Pesco Beam Environmental Solutions, a company involved in waste oil recycling and alternate energy systems. The investment comes even as oil nudges close $100 a barrel and alternative energy sources are becoming more critical globally. The 18-year-old Pesco ((Pragmatic Environmental Solutions Co) builds plant and machinery for companies that are into waste recycle management and manufacture of alternate fuel such as ethanol. It has offices in the US and in Chennai in India. “Investors are chasing these opportunities. Globally, many clean energy funds have been raised to invest in this sector,” said Raja Kumar, CEO and MD, UTI Ventures. The clean technology sector received more than the usual share of interest this week when Nobel Peace prize winner and former US vice-president Al Gore joined Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), on Tuesday. Vinod Khosla of KPCB has also backed clean technology enablers in India and picked up stake in Praj Industries, which makes equipment for ethanol manufacturers, early last year. […]
Indusind Bank needs to raise (tier-I) capital and its Managing Director & CEO, Mr Bhaskar Ghose, says the board would prefer to do so by issuing shares to a “strategic partner”. “Our intention is to get a foreign bank as a strategic partner,” Mr Ghose said, adding that the bank’s “Plan B” for raising equity would be a follow-on GDR issue. He practically ruled out a regular follow-on public or rights issue. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio, as at end-September, was 11.77 per cent. While the bank has headroom to raise about Rs 300 crore by way of tier-II capital (long term debt), Mr Ghose feels tier-II capital would be expensive. In an informal chat with journalists here today, he said that such fund-raising would be completed this financial year. Regulations do not permit a bank to pick up over 5 per cent stake in another bank, but Mr Ghose says that many foreign banks are willing to invest up to 5 per cent. “A lot of foreign banks are interested in establishing a base in India before the markets are opened up (for equity participation by one bank in another),” he said. Mr Ghose was here in connection with an announcement of a tie-up with the Chennai-based Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company to sell the insurer’s products. […]
ICICI Venture has entered into discussions with the promoters of Shalimar Paints which may culminate in a buyout of the latter. Sources said the PE major was working on tabling a possible offer valuing the company at around Rs 450 crore. The domestic paint market is pegged at Rs 11,000 crore and is growing at about 14-15% annually. The company, with three plants at Sikandrabad, Nashik and Howrah, has an annual capacity of around 43,000 tonnes. The company’s stock price on BSE has climbed up from Rs 138 in March this year to a high of Rs 450 on November 12. On Wednesday, it closed at Rs 430, up 1.90%. When contacted, ICICI Venture declined to comment. Sandeep Sarda, executive director & CEO, Shalimar Paints, said: “If there is a proposal, we might examine it. But as of now, there is nothing before us. And we are unaware of any such developments.” However, sources said talks have taken place between ICICI Ventures and Shalimar on a possible deal. In fact, an international media report said private equity funds have shown interest in the company, and quoted a company official who did not rule out the possibility of divesting a majority stake. […]
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