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Several private equity (PE) groups are creating funds exclusively for investing in clean technology in India, adding momentum to a sector where no funds currently exist. These groups include the Nevada-based Arvco Capital Research Llc., Washington, DC-based Global Environment Fund, Hyderabad-based New Ventures India, New Delhi-based Sun Group and Mumbai-based Yes Bank Ltd. These are in addition to the increasing number of PE funds chasing the same segment from their general funds. The capital pool is estimated at $500 million (Rs1,970 crore), not including the general funds, which is almost equal to the sum of all disclosed investments in Indian clean technology from 2001 until now. The funds could close in the next nine months to three years and would be deployed over the next one to seven years. Interest in India is strong as many perceive the country as having the right talent fordeveloping technology and the additional incentive to do so be-cause of its growing power needs—and shortages. […]
Daimler has pulled out of the race for a stake in Indian bus and truck maker Eicher Motors Ltd, the Business Standard said on Sunday. That has left Volvo, Renault, Mahindra International, a joint venture of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Navistar's International Truck and Engine Corp, and “some other unidentified companies,” it said. “We were in talks with Eicher, but we are not looking at having any partnership. We are not interested in that company,” the paper quoted a Daimler India executive as saying. Eicher Motors has said it is evaluating partnership options. Daimler, which recently began assembling some Actros trucks in India, has said it was very close to naming a local partner. It makes buses in India in partnership with Sutlej Motors Ltd. […]
Bangalore based IT company, SPAN Infotech India Pvt. Ltd has announced that it has reached an agreement with EDB, which will acquire a 50.1% stake of the company. EDB is, one of the largest IT groups in the Nordic countries, with over 40 years’ experience of serving leading Nordic businesses and over 4,600 employees with revenues of over $1 billion (Rs3,925 crore). EDB delivers solutions that cover the entire range of business critical IT services. SPAN Infotech employs about 550 professionals working from 3 office locations in Bangalore, India, and is principally working in the areas of applications development and applications management. This acquisition represents one of the largest-ever investments by a Norwegian IT company in Asia. It is expected that the transaction will be implemented towards the end of the fourth quarter of 2007. The current management of SPAN Infotech will continue to run the company following the acquisition. […]
New York-based private equity firm Clearwater Capital Partners is looking at investing $120 million (around Rs 480 crore) in four PE deals in India in the next three months. Clearwater, which focuses on small and medium-sized distressed and undervalued companies in Asia excluding Japan, has already invested $350 million in 26 deals in India in the last two and a half years. “Of our total corpus ($1.7 billion), exposure to India is in the range of 25-27 per cent. We have invested $350 million in 26 deals and will invest another $120 million in four more in next three months,” Clearwater Managing Partner Rob Petty told media. The investments include automotive parts company Jamna Auto, Diamond Cables, hospitality company Kamath Hotels and offshore services firm Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India). The firm is sector agnostic and looks at investment of $15 million upwards with an aim to stay put for 2-4 years. […]
Nimbus Communications Ltd., a media company which private equity firm 3i Group Plc. holds a stake in, may sell shares to a strategic partner, The Economic Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The board will consider a proposal from an unidentified U.K. media company to buy a majority stake, the report said. It will also consider plans from private fund Ashmore Group Plc and an unidentified media company from Singapore for a minority stake, the report said. There may be proposals for controlling stake, but the board may not recommend them, the report quoted Nimbus Chairman Harish Thawani as saying. (Bloomberg) […]
In a move that the Bharti Group claims it is unaware of, Mauritius-based Tuscany TMT Investments is buying stake in Bharti Telecom—the holding company of Bharti Airtel—and Bharti Teletech—the telecom equipment manufacturing arm of the group—from a private company. Tuscany has sought permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the transactions. A Bharti spokesperson said the group will seek clarification about the transactions from the government departments concerned. “Bharti Teletech and Bharti Telecom are privately-held companies. The companies and promoters are not selling stake in any of these firms. We will seek clarification from the department concerned,” the Bharti spokesperson said. Sources in the Bharti Group said the company will seek details regarding the identity of both the seller and buyer. Tuscany is picking up 0.63% stake in Bharti Teletech and 0.3% in Bharti Telecom—both from securities firm Yatish Trading. Last week, Tuscany filed separate applications with FIPB, seeking approval for its equity stake in the Bharti Group companies. The ownership pattern of Tuscany could not be ascertained. […]
According to sources, Natixis has withdrawn and Blackstone as well may withdraw from IFCI stake sale. The bidders still in the fray are – GE Capital, Sterlite and MS, IDFC, WL Ross Consortium, Cargill, Shinsei and PNB. Earlier Kotak Mahindra Bank and Newbridge had dropped out. According to sources, Natixis, which is a French bank, has definitely pulled out. They had earlier expressed interest. Blackstone is also likely to withdraw in the next few days, analysts said. It is likely to signal its intention to the IFCI management that it wants to withdraw from the race, they added. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Newbridge have already withdrawn earlier, analysts said. This means that out of the 10 players who had initially expressed interest in IFCI, four have withdrawn and six players remain. […]
India is a key market in Asia for private equity (PE) funds looking to invest in distressed companies, according to New York-based private equity firm Clearwater Capital Partners, Llc. The six-year old firm focuses on small- and medium-sized distressed companies in Asia (excluding Japan) using both debt and equity. Clearwater has a total corpus of $1.7 billion (about Rs6,681 crore, pension fund California Public Employees’ Retirement System is a key investor), and this includes its latest $900 million fund that closed in June. In India, Clearwater said it has $450 million invested or committed across 26 companies, mostly in the last two-and-a-half-years. This includes investments in automotive-parts company Jamna Auto Industries Ltd, wire products manufacturer Diamond Cables Ltd, hospitality company Kamath Hotels (India) Ltd, and offshore services company Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) Ltd. The investments reflects the fund’s sector focus which includes manufacturing, hospitality, auto parts, power, and oil and gas. India and Korea are our two largest allocations of capital today. […]
IDFC Private Equity Co. Ltd has invested in Rs35 crore in Ahmedebad-based water management company Doshion Ltd, making the private equity fund a top investor in clean technology. Luis Miranda, president and chief executive of IDFC Private Equity, said this brings the fund’s total clean technology investment—which he defines as renewable energy, water and natural gas—to about $130 million (Rs510.9 crore). The fund has invested $22 million in natural gas transmission company Gujarat State Petronet Ltd, $40 million in manufacturer of solar cells and modules Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Inc., and has a pending investment of $60 million in a natural gas company that IDFC Private Equity seeded. There are a increasing number of private equity investors interested in clean technology, including water management. Many investors, however, have recently found it difficult to find investments in this sector. In 2005, ICICI Venture did a buyout of water treatment company VA Tech WABAG Ltd, India from its parent VA Tech WABAG GmbH, Austria. […]
Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), on Wednesday announced that it has sold 26 percent equity in its general insurance business to German insurer Ergo for an undisclosed amount. The country's largest housing finance company, will sell 32.5 million shares in HDFC General Insurance to Ergo, equivalent to 26 percent stake. The joint venture (JV) agreement also allows the German company to hike its stake to 49 percent as and when the FDI regulations change. “We are selling 26 percent equity in our general insurance to Ergo. We will be applying to the regulator and hope to get the approval within the next four weeks,” said HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh. The joint venture, which will be called HDFC Ergo General Insurance has a capitalisation of about $30 million. Earlier this year, HDFC bought its partner Chubb Corp's 26 percent stake in the general insurance venture after an uneasy relationship stalled growth. […]
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