Vodafone also in the race for Hutch

After Reliance, Maxis, Bharti and Essar itself, the Hutch-Essar JV seems to have found a new suitor. It seems that Vodafone, the British telecom giant, is reported to bid for Hutch-Essar. UBS, which is Vodafone’s house banker, is said to be advising the company on financing and acquisition strategies.

Both Vodafone and UBS have refused to comment on the development.

Vodafone is selling its stake in its holdings across market as it faces severe investor backlash. It sold its 25% stake in Swisscom for about $3.5 billion and a similar stake in a Belgian wireless operator to Belgacom; before that it had exited companies in both Sweden and Japan. The Japanese transaction was valued at about $16 billion.

In India, Vodafone has invested in a 10% stake in Bharti Airtel, the value of which now is estimated to be around Rs. 16, 000 crores. Vodafone might consider selling its stake in Bharti for financing the acquisition.

Read the article from The Economic Times.

Gitanjali acquires US-based Samuels

Gitanjali Gems has acquired 97% stake in Samuels Jewelers Inc, the 10th largest jewellery chain in the United States, for Rs. 200 crore. Samuels operates 97 stores across 18 states in the US with current revenue equivalent to Rs. 450 crores. The acquisition has been financed through internal accruals and proceeds of a recently concluded $110 million FCCB.

Read Business Standard, Reuters and India Infoline for more details

AIG Capital picks up majority stake in Vivek Hire Purchase

American financial services giant AIG Capital Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary has acquired a 75% stake in Chennai-based Vivek Hire Purchase and Leasing (VHPL) Limited for an undisclosed sum. VHPL is an unlisted NBFC promoted by Vivek Limited, one of India’s leading consumer durables retailers. VHPL provides financing for consumer durables bought from Vivek outlets, and going ahead under the new management, could broad-base its product offerings by getting into areas such as automobile, personal and home finance.

Read more about this news from The Hindu.

Shinsei Bank to set up mutual fund business in India

Another Japanese firm is planning to enter the asset management business in India. Shinsei Bank is reportedly forming an asset management JV with the South-based Andhra Bank. This is the second such announcement by a Japanese financial services company – earlier Nikko AMC had announced a similar kind of JV with the Ambit group. Shinsei will have a majority stake in the business. Shinsei had previouslyannounced a tie-up with UTI MF to invest $300 mn, raised from Japanese investors, in the Indian stock markets. Of late, many foreign funds such as Japan’s Mitsui, Korea’s Mirae, UBS, Aviva, Pioneer, etc. are planning to enter the Indian mutual fund space.

Read Business Standard for more details.