|
After a bumper year in 2006, private equity fund-raising in India is now seeing a correction. Private equity and venture capital firms have raised $203.1 million till date in 2007, roughly one-tenth of what they had done ($2.2 billion) in calendar year 2006. While 2006 saw plenty of new funds being raised for the India market—an informal estimate puts the total at 17 funds—private equity activity this year will focus less on raising new money and more on the deployment of existing funds. […] SKIL Infrastructure Ltd (formerly Sea King Infrastructure Ltd), promoted by Nikhil Gandhi, has sought clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to sell a 26% stake in the Mumbai-based infrastructure company to US-based hedge fund manager Avenue Capital Group for about $500 million (Rs2,050 crore). “Avenue Capital is buying a 26% stake in SKIL Infrastructure Ltd for about $500 million. The money raised through a new issue of shares will be utilized to fund various infrastructure projects such as tourism and shipyard,” said an SKIL Infrastructure official, who did not wish to be identified. He declined to provide more details citing a “confidentiality agreement signed between the two parties”. […] The European unit of Usha Martin Ltd. plans to buy a distribution firm in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for 3-4 million euros and hopes to close the deal by the end of this month, a company source said. “This company has been sourcing high-end wire ropes from different manufacturers. So the benefits will come to our company,” the source said. […] India's Batliboi Ltd has acquired a French textile air engineering company, AESA Air Engineering SA, for about 90 mln rupees in an all cash deal, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. […] Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group has made a US$10.3 million investment in Elitecore Technologies Ltd. Headquartered in Ahmedabad, Elitecore is an IT company focusing on the fast growing Internet security and the convergent billing solutions markets. Funds will be used for Elitecore’s ongoing product development, research & development, working capital, new products and infrastructure build-up. The investment will come from Carlyle Asia Growth Capital Partners, a US$680 million fund that invests in high growth companies in China, India, Japan and Korea. […] GMR Group, the Rs 3,000 crore infrastructure major with focus on power, roads and airport projects across the country, is mulling over investing in infrastructure private equity (PE) funds. This move, when it happens, will mirror the trend in the mature technology venture capital (VC) industry where companies such as Intel, SAP and Siemens manage their own or invest in various technology VC funds. According to a senior official of the GMR Group, the company has got proposals from several PE funds to invest in them. […] The race for Citigroup Global Services, the business process outsourcing arm (BPO) of Citigroup is hotting up with the entry of the BPO firm WNS and consultancy firm Accenture. Sources close to the development said these were the latest entrants into the fray. The list of suitors includes IBM, Automatic Data Processing (ADS), Infosys, EDS, Genpact, Capgemini and private equity players such as Blackstone and General Atlantic. A Citigroup spokesperson declined to comment. […] LIC Housing Finance Ltd, one of India’s leading housing finance companies that is currently testing the venture fund waters by partnering with a couple of venture funds, is evaluating plans to float its own venture fund focusing on the realty sector. LIC Housing has already invested Rs50 crore in Kotak Realty Fund and Rs10 crore in CIG Realty Fund. The proposed new fund would focus on financing projects such as shopping malls and special economic zones. […] Valuations of Indian BPO firms, among the most expensive globally, have undergone a correction since the beginning of the year making them more attractive to private equity players and others looking for BPO buys in the country. WNS, India’s largest third-party BPO after Genpact, is currently valued at 44 times its earnings, at a significant discount to the price it used to command six months ago, when it was valued at over 63 times its earnings. EXL Services, which is listed on the Nasdaq, has also seen its valuation drop from 36 times its earnings to 30 times its earnings in the same period. […] CNBC-TV18 has learnt that Liberty Shoe may be looking to dilute about 10% equity. It may also be looking at a pre-IPO placement for its retail subsidiary. According to sources, the company is planning to make a 15-20% pre-IPO placement in their 100% subsidiary, Liberty Retail Revolution, which may fetch around Rs 30-40 crore. […] |