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INDEPENDENT News & Media (INM) sold its remaining stake in Indian newspaper publisher Jagran Prakashan for about €32m yesterday to reduce borrowing, but added that it remains interested in future co-operation between the two media groups. The decision ends INM's lucrative investment in Jagran, which began in 2005 when the company bought a 26pc stake in the Bombay-based publisher. The gradual sale of the stake over the past 14 months has yielded a profit of €67.5m for the Irish company. INM, which publishes this newspaper, has been selling some titles and investments to pay off debt since the beginning of the credit crisis in 2007, which forced the company to delay repayments to some bond holders for several months. Oligarch The company sold off the London-based 'Independent' and the 'Independent on Sunday' to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev's family in April. It continues to own newspapers, radio stations and advertising companies in many English-speaking countries including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. “We have been crystal clear that our immediate and continuing priorities are on reducing bank debt, achieving and sustaining leverage ratios at significantly lower levels and focusing on growing our market-leading brands in our core markets,” INM chief executive Gavin O'Reilly said yesterday. Mr O'Reilly noted that the five-year investment had been a “highly profitable one for INM, and I want to recognise the insight of former CEOs Tony O'Reilly and Liam Healy for initiating this investment”. Gavin O'Reilly will remain as an independent and non-executive director of Jagran following a request from the Gupta family, which is Jagran's majority shareholder. “At the appropriate time, we shall continue to work with Jagran and the Gupta family in exploring other ventures in what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting media markets in the world,” Mr O'Reilly said. The company remained open to “the many exciting possibilities in the Indian media market in the future. I want to thank the Gupta family, and particularly chairman Mahendra Mohan Gupta, for their stewardship and ensuring so many years of successful partnership”, he added. […]
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries today said it will buy its third shale gas asset in the United States for $392 million. Reliance will pay $340 million in cash to acquire a 60% stake in the Marcellus shale-gas acreages held by Carrizo Oil and Gas Inc and its partner, the company said in a press statement. The remainder $52 million would in Carrizo's drilling cost in the Marcellus shale-gas areas of central and northeast Pennsylvania. The Mumbai-based firm in April had bought a 40% stake in Atlas Energy Inc's Marcellus Shale acreage for$1.7 billion. In June, it had agreed to buy a 45% stake in Pioneer Natural Resources Co's Eagle Ford shale natural gas asset in Texas for about $1.36 billion. […]
Mahindra & Mahindra is expected to offer around $300 million to $450 million for South Korean sport utility vehicle maker Ssangyong Motor, the Economic Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The paper said Mahindra's board was likely to approve the bid for Ssangyong at a meeting on Thursday. Mahindra would fund the bid through a combination of debt and internal accruals and that Kotak Mahindra Bank is likely to finance the debt along with other third party bankers that have not yet been finalised, the paper said. The paper said Mahindra was not looking at pledging its shares or opting for an equity dilution to raise the money. Pawan Goenka, Mahindra's president for auto and farm equipment, declined to comment when contacted by the paper. […]
VIP Industries Ltd., India’s biggest luggage maker, is planning to buy a European rival this financial year as overseas companies such as Samsonite LLC expand in the company’s home market. VIP surged as much as 12 percent to a record in Mumbai after Chairman Dilip Piramal said the company, about 6 percent owned by Indian investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, is targeting a luggage maker owned by a private equity firm. The company also plans to form joint ventures to manufacture soft luggage and boost sales, he said. “It is quite a respected name,” Piramal said of the acquisition target he’s identified. “In soft luggage, we will enter into joint ventures with some major suppliers both in India and abroad.” VIP is expanding its product range as economic growth and rising salaries prompts more Indians to travel. The nation’s luggage industry, estimated to be valued at about 20 billion rupees ($433 million) a year, is growing at 15 percent annually, Piramal said. India’s $1.2 trillion economy may grow 8.5 percent in the year ending March 31 and 9 percent the following year, according to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. […]
An investment banker and a company official said that UltraTech Cement Ltd and a subsidiary of Aditya Birla group will purchase around 80% stake in Dubai’s ETA Star group owned Star Cement Co Llc for an enterprise value of USD 380 million. The purchase will be made through UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of UltraTech Cement. Enterprise value is the market value of the entire business including debt. Mr Adesh Gupta a whole time director and CFO at Grasim Industries Ltd which controls 60% in UltraTech Cement said that “It will be more than 51% stake it will be very high stake. It will give an exit route for ETA group.” […]
The companies in the food, drink, consumer goods and retail sectors are going strong with their mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in spite of the slowdown in the global economic recovery. This trend is more visible in the developing countries, finds a study done by KPMG's Global Consumer Markets practice. In fact, the next 18 months may see a rise in the M&A activities in the consumer sector. The study, called the 'The Strategy Game- Prospects for M&A in Consumer Markets, 2010 and Beyond', was carried out in various countries like the U.S., Canada, Spain, UK, Poland and Central Europe, Russia, South Africa, Australia, China and Hong Kong, India, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Interviews were conducted with senior KPMG and M&A professionals on their outlook for M&A activity in the consumer sector over the next 18 months. The study also revealed that while economic indicators point to a decline in manufacturing output and weakening share prices, consumer companies in some countries are being targeted both by international buyers looking to enter new markets, as well as local companies looking to strengthen their presence domestically. […]
In the 20-company portfolio of Nexus Venture East, a $320-million venture capital (VC) fund, three businesses stand out. There’s Suminter India Organics, which does contract farming for organic produce; D.light Design, which provides solar lighting solutions; and Sohan Lal Commodity Management, which provides grain warehousing facilities in small towns and villages in 12 states. Nexus refers to them as ‘impact investments’ — businesses where the pursuit of profits is accompanied by the premise of social good. In the four years it has been in India, Nexus has invested $10 million in social businesses. However, in the next six months alone, it expects to match that amount. Says Sandeep Singhal, co-founder, Nexus: “Businesses are targeting the bottom of the pyramid because people have a genuine ability to pay. So, we are looking at a few good deals in this space.” It’s not just Nexus that is looking at a sharp increase in exposure to social businesses. […]
Re-feel Cartridge Engineering Pvt Ltd has announced that UK based private equity company investing in emerging markets, TLG Capital is investing around USD 5 million for a 36% stake in the company. The company which follows a franchisee business model will utilise the funds for expanding its franchisee network and expanding its chain of laptop repair stores. Samit Lakhotia, Director – Business Development of Re-feel said: “We welcome the addition of this dynamic firm, who will work with us to consolidate and grow our business within India and overseas.” […]
Reliance MediaWorks has offered to buy a majority stake in multiplex operator Inox Leisure in an attempt to end a prolonged tussle between the two companies over a smaller cinema chain. Two persons close to the development said the company, owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, has offered Rs 120 for every share to the owners of Inox, valuing the company at a little over Rs 740 crore. But the two sides were still talking about valuation and a final agreement had not been reached, the people close to the deal said. The owners of Inox — the Delhi-based Jain family who also own Gujarat Fluorochemicals — are holding out for a higher price, said to be around `140, they said. The Jain family owns just under 67% of Inox. […]
Hedge fund Soros Fund Management is on the verge of taking a stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The New York-based firm is in final talks with Dubai Holdings, which wants to offload its own 4% stake in the Indian bourse. Soros plans to pay about $40 million for the stake, the Financial Times reports. The move comes amid signs of disagreement between the BSE and the Singapore Stock Exchange, which also owns 4% of the Mumbai exchange. The SGX recently gave up its board seat at the BSE, and has been looking to partner more closely with the BSE’s chief rival, the National Stock Exchange of India, which is significantly larger. […]
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