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h bank Natixis will buy 25 percent stake in the asset management arm of India's Infrastructure Development Finance Company, they said in a joint statement on Friday. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. IDFC said the Natixis tie-up would give its asset management arm the opportunity to boost international distribution and gain access to overseas investors who were looking to invest in the Indian equity markets. […] Private equity (PE) investors are alarmed by the Andhra Pradesh government’s move to bar micro finance institutions (MFIs) from tapping the capital market and PE investments. They have said this was regressive thinking and would stifle such lending. The AP government recommended to the Malegam committee on the subject, set up the Reserve Bank of India, that MFIs be barred from making Initial Public Offers of stock. They would then, said the government, focus on profits and defeat the purpose of microfinance. Following the news, SKS Microfinance’s share price fell by nine per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It is the only listed MFI in the country. Other large MFIs like Spandana Sphoorty and Share Microfinance were looking to list on the bourses. Experts say they’d now defer their plans. AP forms a large proportion of MFI lending in the country. […] GVK Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of GVK Power & Infrastructure Limited has raised another Rs.698 Cr from Actis and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), after raising Rs.800 Cr from 3i last month. With this deal, the total PE investment in GVK Energy has now gone up to Rs.1,498 Cr for an overall dilution of 24.97% stake. Both PE firms will invest Rs 349 crore each, of which Rs.218 Cr each will be invested as the first tranche of the deal. GVK Energy which currently has a power generation capacity of 901 Mw plans to use the proceeds to expand capacity up to 4,500 MW by 2013-14. GVK Group consolidated its power business under GVK Energy Ltd earlier this year, transferring its investment in GVK Industries Ltd, GVK Gautami Power Ltd, GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) Ltd and Alaknanda Hydro Power Company Ltd. […] Private equity investors may deploy nearly $1 billion in the Indian power sector in the next six months, according to Sanjay Sethi, executive director & head of infrastructure group at Kotak Mahindra Capital . “We are advising at least half a dozen power companies who are willing to raise private equity funds, and several other investment bankers too are,” Mr Sethi told ET in an interview. Global PE funds have been big investors India's infrastructure sector, especially power. “The investments could be in the range of $50-250 million in some group holding companies and subsidiaries, mainly unlisted and having strong growth prospects,” said Mr Sethi. The energy sector, which had fallen off the radar of PE investors last year, has shown a strong recovery this year. According to Venture Intelligence, a Chennai-based research company, there were 22 investments worth $2 billion in the power sector in 2010 till November, compared to 21 investments worth $560 million in 2009. […] State owned Bank of Baroda on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell 51% in its existing credit card subsidiary Bobcards to Spain based BBVA for €34 million, both banks said in a media release. The venture is subject to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Bank of Spain’s approval and is the first foray for the Spanish lender in the Indian retail market. Manuel Galatas, Managing Director, Asia , BBVA said, the alliance “is consistent with their strategy of entering new markets through relationships with a leading local partner […] Lanco Infratech Ltd of India has acquired one of the leading coal mines in western Australia, formerly owned by the failed Griffin Coal, for as much as $850 million. KordaMentha, the administrators of the Griffin Coal Mining Company, and Lanco announced an agreement under which Lanco will acquire the assets of Griffin Coal. Griffin Coal is an independent thermal coal producer with established operations and substantial export growth potential. The company produced more than 4.0 mpta of coal during the year ended 2010 and is the largest supplier of coal to west Australia’s domestic industrial coal market. The production can be ramped up to over 15 mpta in the near term, post development of evacuation infrastructure. The mining tenements contain over 1.1 billion tonne of JORC compliant thermal coal resources. […] Videocon Industries Ltd., India’s biggest consumer-electronics maker, plans to combine its energy assets and sell a stake in the business to help pay debt and fund purchases of oil and gas areas. The company, led by billionaire Venugopal Dhoot, is in talks with investors including Chinese companies for the stake sale, said Suresh M. Hegde, the group’s finance chief. Aurangabad, India-based Videocon may also sell as much as 25 percent stake in the energy unit in an initial public offering within six months “to monetize oil and gas assets,” he said. Videocon is betting state-run Chinese companies, which bid a record $38.8 billion this year to acquire energy assets overseas, will extend their purchasing spree. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who is visiting the South Asian nation this week, said China will seek to boost commerce with India while reducing his country’s $18 billion trade surplus. Chinese investors “give better value than any other investors,” Hegde, said in an interview in his office in Mumbai yesterday. “Chinese demand for oil assets is huge.” He didn’t name the investors. […] British Telecom Wednesday reported it had offloaded its 5.5% stake in its Indian joint venture (JV) Tech Mahindra to partner Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) for Rs 451 Cr, around $100.2 million. Under the terms of the agreement, British Telecom sold 6.9 million Tech Mahindra shares to Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 653.6 per share through bulk deal on NSE on Tuesday, reducing its stake from 30% in the JV to 24.4%. Tech Mahindra remains a key supplier to British Telecom and, while further sales may be considered in the future, BT expects to continue to have a shareholding in Tech Mahindra for some time. Earlier Mahindra & Mahindra had disclosed that it is, to grant British Telecom a waiver of M&M's pre-emption rights under the Shareholders' Agreement between M&M, TM and BT for the balance of BT's shareholding in TM which M&M has not agreed to acquire, subject to certain conditions. […] Sintex Industries Limited announced that it's wholly owned subsidiary, Sintex Infra Projects Limited (“SIPL”) has signed a definitive agreement with Durha Constructions Private Limited (“DCPL” or “the Company”) to acquire 30% ownership of the Company. As a part of the agreement that is inked with the current owners of DCPL, Sintex will be able to acquire majority ownership of the Company on pre-agreed terms on closing of current financial year, FY'2011. The primary businesses of Sintex are building products, custom moldings and textiles. This investment shall help Sintex to grow and strengthen its monolithic and prefab business and also building an active presence in the Infrastructure sector, particularly the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) business that throws tremendous opportunities with robust growth In Indian economy. […] dia's second largest state-owned bank after State Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), has acquired a majority 63.64 per cent stake in JSC Dana Bank Kazakhstan for 3.5 billion tenge (around Rs 106.8 crore / $23.765 million). PNB acquired 35 million shares of 1,000 tenge each, at par, for 3.5 billion tenge, thereby also raising the capital of JSC Dana Bank to 5.5 billion tenge from the existing 2 billion tenge, PNB said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). JSC Dana Bank has convened a general body meeting of shareholders, scheduled to be held in Almaty on 15 December 2010. The meeting is expected to approve the transaction. […] |