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Satyam Computers is on the prowl in the global market. The Nasdaq-listed IT services major is scouting for a third acquisition in the consulting space in the US and Europe, in line with its commitment to strengthen this vertical. It is looking at spending anywhere between $50 million and $100 million for this buy. Satyam had flagged off acquisitions in the consulting space in April 2005 when it took over business consulting firm Citisoft with presence in London, Boston and New York. The deal was valued at around $38.7 million. This was followed up with the company buying Singapore-based Knowledge Dynamics, a consulting solutions provider in the business intelligence space, in July 2005. That was an all-cash deal involving a consideration of $3.3 million. “We are constantly looking at different opportunities for our inorganic growth. Companies in the enterprise business consulting space are on our radar as it will help strengthen our consulting vertical,” Satyam head (global marketing & communications) Hari Thalapalli told ET. Satyam, which the fourth largest software exporter from India, is currently evaluating half a dozen niche players in this segment. The proposed move ties up with its strategy to offer integrated business solutions to customers. It is specifically looking at companies that will add value in expanding its expertise in enterprise resource planning (ERP) business solutions. […]
Shreyas Shipping & Logistics Ltd has announced that the Company has acquired a stake of 51% in Haytrans (India) Ltd making Haytrans a subsidiary of the Company. Haytrans’ thriving presence in international freight forwarding, worldwide network of 17 offices, established global reach, industry competence and strategically developed worldwide air freight and ocean freight network would effectively compliment Shreyas’ logistics business resulting in synergy in operations and increase in the geographical spread.(Equity Bulls) […]
If more and more private equity (PE) firms are refraining from investing in tobacco, liquor and gambling companies, it shows the growing Arab interest in India. As the oil sheikhs find alternative investment avenues like rupee-backed assets an attractive proposition, PE firms are undergoing a 'purge'. Alok Sama, founder and president of Baer Capital Partners, which recently raised a $250 million PE fund for India, says one-third of the money was from the Gulf region. Sama said the $250 million fund will not invest in alcohol and gambling companies – sin businesses for Gulf investors. “If you examine the books of funds like Carlyle and New Vernon, they raise a chunk of their capital from the Gulf region,” said a PE investor who did not wish to be named. The trend started after 9/11, when a lot of Middle East investors started withdrawing money from the West and looking for safer avenues. Its traditional ties with the Gulf countries and success story among emerging markets made India an obvious destination. […]
Largest private sector company Reliance Industries Ltd said it has acquired a majority stake and management control of east Africa-based Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp (GAPCO), through its wholly-owned unit Reliance Industries Middle East Dmcc. The company did not specify its exact stake in GAPCO nor the financial details of the deal. GAPCO, headquartered in Mauritius, owns and operates large storage terminal facilities and a retail distribution network in several countries in central and east Africa like Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. It owns and operates large storage terminals at Dar Es Salaam, Mombassa and Kampala, depots in east & central Africa and over 250 outlets covering retail and industrial segments, a release from Reliance said. The demand for petroleum products in the east African countries where GAPCO operates is rising steadily and has mirrored the rapid GDP growth in these nations, Reliance added. The company expects import of petroleum products in these countries to rise in the near future and added that these markets provide a strategic fit for Indian exporters as they are easily accessible from India.( ABC Money) […]
Private equity fund investment in India has risen to $2.48 billion till July driven by the country's robust economic growth and investors are now likely to target opportunities in the core sector in the days ahead, a latest report says. The India fund pool, referring to the investments made by PE funds in the country, has already crossed USD 2.48-billion mark in the first seven months this year, compared to a total of $3.28 billion in 2006, data complied by Asia Private Equity Review (APER) shows. “In recent weeks, the closing of a number of funds brought in an additional $1.62 billion of fresh capital. With the additional $1.16 billion also currently being raised, the PE funds pool in India is set to swell to a new level during the year,” a report by UK-based global PE advisor Almeida Capital based on the APER data said. […]
Origo Sino-India PLC said it taken a 20 pct stake in India's Roshini International Bio Energy Corp Ltd (RIBEC), extending a convertible note of up to 2 mln usd and retaining the right to invest an additional 6 mln usd in a pre-IPO private placement. The private equity adviser also said it has entered into definitive agreements with RIBEC to create an international joint venture focused on the renewable bio-energy sector. RIBEC reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 4.4 mln usd for the year to end March on revenue of 5.87 mln usd, the company said in a statement.(ABC Money) […]
Forget about Henry Kravis and Stephen Schwarzman. Mergers and acquisitions may set a worldwide record of more than $3.57 trillion before this year ends without a megadeal from the kings of leveraged buyouts. Bankers specializing in mergers and acquisitions need to drum up only $486 billion in transactions during the next four months to boost fee revenue to more than $11 billion for the first time, data compiled by Bloomberg News show. Only once in the last seven years, during the takeover drought of 2002, have they failed to crack the $500-billion mark from September through December. As contagion from the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis sidelines Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Schwarzman's Blackstone Group, overseas buyers are stepping in. Indian billionaire Ratan Tata and Dubai's Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem are just two of the investors seeking to benefit while competition is scarce and the dollar is cheap. “Cross-border activity will keep the volume up for the balance of the year,” said Frank Aquila, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, the top legal advisor on mergers this year. “Transactions are still being announced.” International buyers will spend more on takeover advice in 2007 than ever before, as higher borrowing costs constrain leveraged buyout firms. Investors from Saudi Arabia to Sweden already have announced $282 billion of mergers and acquisitions in the world's biggest economy, according to Bloomberg data. […]
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector funding arm of World Bank, is in talks with Angel Broking group to pick up a minority stake in its holding company. The group is in advanced discussions with four global investors and IFC is one of them. “We expect to finalise an investor soon,” said Angel Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Thakkar. The new investor will be issued fresh equity in Angel Infin Private, a holding company of group. Angel expects to raise Rs 150 crore from the investors to fund its retail expansion, taking its branches from 80 to 260 in smaller cities. The multilateral agency discloses the investment proposal as part of its efforts to enhance the transparency of its activities. IFC said the proposed investment will help Angel introduce new products to serve its clients more effectively. […]
Reliance Industries Ltd is looking to buy a 50 percent stake in Kenya's sole refinery, half owned by Shell, BP Plc and Chevron, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. The Kenyan government owns the remaining half of Kenya Petroleum Refineries and the newspaper, quoting industry sources, did not specify whose holding Reliance was eyeing. A successful acquisition will allow Reliance, India's biggest private sector company with a market value of over $67 billion, to source petroleum products for selling to European and American markets, the paper said. A Reliance spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. The newspaper said a regional Web site, allafrica.com, had reported Reliance' interest in the refinery, which has a capacity to process about 60,000 barrels per day (bpd). […]
Barring a minor “ripple effect”, private equity (PE) players do not expect the US subprime crisis to truncate inflows into India in the near term. Absence of leveraged buyouts (as in the US and Europe), abundance of India-dedicated funds and renewed interest among “long only” pension and endowment funds would provide the necessary cushion for PE funds operating in India, according to experts. The Reserve Bank of India, in its 2006-07 annual report, recently warned that PE funds, which are major investors in emerging market economies like India, could pull out in the face of continuing crisis in the US house mortgage market. “There should only be some ripple effect in the near term. Unlike in the US and Europe, Indian PE funds do not indulge in leveraged buyouts (LBOs),” said Venture Intelligence CEO & founder Arun Natarajan. “Secondly, unlike during the 2000 stock market scam, when PE players retreated in large numbers, there is an abundance of India-focused PE funds now. This negates chances of fund disbandment and pull out. Thirdly, (post the subprime scare) we are still seeing deals happening in the PE segment,” Mr Natarajan added. A peep into the available data for the past two months, since the beginning of the subprime scare, show that there has been no serious dip in the number of PE deals. About 47 deals worth $2,360 million were effected in July and August as against 68 deals worth $1,080 million during the same period in 2006. […]
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