Friday, March 30, 2007

India TV receives $11.5 mn from Com Ventures affiliate FUSE+Media

Hindi news channel India TV has secured private equity funding of around $11.5 mn (Rs. 50.96 crores) FUSE+Media, an affiliate of US-based venture capital firm Com Ventures. The channel has also received approval by the Foreign Investment Proposal Board for the same.

FUSE+Media has invested in India TV through Mauritius-based CV Global Holdings. The investment would give FUSE+Media a 19.17% stake in Independent News Services Private Limited, which is India TV’s parent company, co-founded by Rajat Sharma and Ritu Dhawan. The FUSE+Media stake includes shares divested by existing stakeholders of Independent News Service.

More in the exchange4media.com article.

ICICI Ventures contemplating innovative fund structure

ICICI Ventures, one of India’s biggest domestic private equity outfits is contemplating a possible restructuring of the entire fund structure, which if successful, could emerge as a model for several tax-hit VCFs in the country In a move to overcome the adverse tax impact, ICICI Ventures has proposed that stocks it currently holds be transferred to investors.

What is now being mooted is that shares be transferred to investors, both foreign as well as domestic, (unlike in the traditional model, where the shares are held by a trust, which in turn issues units to the investors), while the asset management company of the VC fund will continue to manage the investment. The advantage here is that since the ownership of shares would shift from the trust to investors, the trust would be spared of tax.

The Finance Bill 2007 has proposed that only those VC funds which invest in specified sectors would enjoy tax exemption. So far, a VC fund was exempted from tax where only investors paid tax, and not the trust. The structure proposed by ICICI Ventures would help in restoring this.

Read The Economic Times article.
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CVC International allowed investing in Flemingo Duty Free Shops by FIPB

Citicorp Venture Capital International’s proposal to acquire 15% stake in Flemingo Duty Free Shops Private Limited (FDSPL) has been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Flemingo Duty Free runs duty-free shops at various airports and seaports. The deal is valued at more than Rs. 100 crores. The Ministry of Finance had already given the go-ahead to the investment. However, the proposal was awaiting approval pending with the FIPB.

Flemingo would initially issue 1 mn convertible preference shares to CVC International for about Rs. 1000 each, total amounting to Rs. 100 crores. These preference shares would then be converted into equity at a later date for a premium. Citicorp’s shareholding in Flemingo would be up to a maximum of 15% of the paid-up equity of the company.

The current shareholding structure of Flemingo Duty Free Shops includes 51.22% equity stake held by Flemingo International, a company based in British Virgin Islands, and a 24.87% stake held by various NRIs. After conversion of Citicorp’s preference shares; Flemingo International, NRIs and Citicorp would respectively hold 43.54%, 21.14% and 15% in FDSPL, taking the total FDI to 79.68%.

Read more in The Economic Times article.
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Flemingo Duty Free Shops sells 15% stake to Citigroup Venture Capital International; awaits regulatory nod

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Indian i-banks to fight it out with foreign ones for size and talent

It has now become common knowledge that since it announced its “break-off” with Morgan Stanley, domestic investment banking major JM Financial is aggressively hunting for both size and talent. Having sold its equity broking division for a whopping $445 mn to MS, JM is now flush with funds to afford a local brokerage house to re-build the equity sales and research team. Plans are also afoot to hire around 30 research analysts over the next 12 months. On both these accounts, it will be a rough ride ahead for the venerable institution.

According to an article on The Mint, the Indian investment banking industry is facing a severe talent crunch, with the cream of the lot having been picked up by the foreign investment banks, which are landing up on the Indian corporate shore in droves. The foreign banks have been snatching talent out of the jaws of Indian recruiters, with pay packages comparable to those in other parts of the world. The article goes on to cite instances of Lehman Brothers hiring Gaurav Gupta of NM Rothschild and Blackstone hiring Anup Kapadia from HSBC India, thus highlighting the bitter feud between foreign banks themselves for skilled personnel. Certain firms like Goldman Sachs are calling in Indian expats handling overseas operations to set up and manage the Indian offices.

In all this rush for deals and dealmakers, the only ones who are smiling are the i-bankers themselves, who earlier with a salary of Rs. 8-10 lakhs can now expect the same to go up to around Rs. 35 lakhs. And anyone with an experience of 8 years plus can demand upward of Rs. 2 crores a year!

Sequoia Capital invests $11.5 mn in Indian MFI SKS Microfinance

Leading Indian microfinance institution SKS Microfinance has received $11.5 mn of venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital. This is "the first pure for-profit private equity play" ever seen in the micro-lending world, according to SKS Microfinance CEO Vikram Akula, in an interview with CNBC. Sequoia's investment makes SKS the largest for-profit microfinance institution in the world. Sequoia's investment also makes it SKS' lead investor. Other stakeholders include Unitus Equity.

The concept of microfinance, which is providing small business loans to poor borrowers who lack credit, was made famous by Nobel peace prize winner Mohammed Yunus, founder of the not-for-profit Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. While the foundations are similar in concept, SKS' version of micro-lending provides loans that carry interest rates to its 600,000 members in 7200 villages in rural India.

However, it is to be noted that Sequoia's investment comes with a rider: in the next 3-5 years, SKS will either have an initial public offering or be acquired.

Clearstone, SVB invest $5 mn in Indian gaming portal games2win.com

Mumbai-based gaming portal Games2win.com has raised about $5 mn from leading US venture capital firms Clearstone Venture Partners and Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group. This is the company’s first round of venture capital funding, and will be used to upgrade content, hire talent, and build the brand. Games2win will distribute smartcards similar to prepaid cards for mobile phones that allow customers to pay in advance for service.

The online gamers’ population in India is estimated to be about around 3.5 mn people, and this figure is likely to grow 50-100% every year for the next 5-10 years. The growth drivers would be the rapid adoption of the Internet, increased broadband penetration, the growth in Internet cafés, and a sizable middle-class with rising disposable income.

Read more in the Red Herring article.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Magma Leasing to raise $15 mn from the Netherlands-based financial institution FMO

Magma Leasing Limited will make a private placement of $15 mn or around Rs. 65 crores of redeemable preference shares to The Netherlands Development Finance Company (Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden - FMO). This follows an earlier investment of Rs. 21 crores by FMO in Magma preference shares in February 2006. The investment will be treated as Tier-2 capital in the company, as per RBI guidelines. The funds raised would be used strengthen the balance-sheet and drive business volume growth.

Magma had received an investment of Rs. 105 crores in August 2006 from the UK-based Cambridge Place Investment Management and following its merger with Kolkata-based Shrachi Infrastructure Finance Limited, Magma now had a branch network at 154 locations and over Rs. 5500 crores worth of assets under management.

Magma finances commercial vehicles, cars, construction equipment, and multi-utility vehicles, and users in semi-urban and rural markets contribute a significant proportion of its business. It also has fee-based businesses like distribution of insurance and personal loan products.

Read the article in Business Standard.
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Local microfinance fund Bellwether gets $2.4 mn from Dutch firm

ChrysCapital to invest for $60 mn for 12% in Hathway Cable

Homegrown private equity major ChrysCapital may acquire about 10-12% stake in Rajan Raheja Group-controlled Hathway Cable for $60 mn. If the deal sails through, Raheja’s stake will be reduced to about 62-64%, while Star TV will continue to maintain its 26% holding in the company.

Talks between the two parties are at an advanced stage and the deal is likely to take place shortly. In January, Singapore-based PE fund Temasek Holdings bought 10% stake in Tata Sky, the joint venture between the Tata Group and Star TV, for Rs. 250 crores.

Delhi-based ChrysCapital manages $1 bn across four funds. Its investment portfolio includes Idea Cellular, UTI Bank, Suzlon, Yes Bank, Moser Baer and ING Vysya Bank.

Read the Indiantelevision.com article.
Related Post:
Temasek Holdings buys 10% in Tata Sky for Rs. 250 crores; values the DTH provider at Rs. 2500 crores

Rain Commodities not to bid anymore for GLC Carbon

Hyderabad-based Rain Commodities’ wholly-owned North American subsidiaries, Rain USA and Rain Canada, have withdrawn as rival bidder to Oxbow's proposal of C$14.00 per unit for acquiring the assets of the Toronto-based Great Lakes Carbon Income Fund. GLC Income Fund is a trust established to indirectly hold the securities of GLC Carbon USA, Inc., the world's largest producer of both anode and industrial grade calcined petroleum coke. Rain Canada would receive a termination fee of C$17 mn (Rs. 64 crores) in cash from the fund prior to it actually entering into an agreement with Oxbow as required under the terms of its agreement with GLC Carbon Fund.

Rain USA stills retains the option to sell its indirect 20.22% stake in GLC Carbon, acquired in March 2006, as the fund is required to ensure that US-based Oxbow makes an offer to each stockholder of GLC Carbon to buy such equity interests.

Read the article in Business Standard.
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Rain, Oxbow bids C$13.50 for GLC Carbon; draws Rain Commodities into bidding war

Mayfield Ventures to invest $15 mn in domestic i-bank Avendus Advisors

Mumbai-based investment bank Avendus Advisors has received a private equity investment of around $15 mn, for a stake of 20%, from US-based venture capital fund Mayfield Ventures. The fund is being infused as fresh equity, and the term sheets would be signed in a week’s time. Other details of the deal have not been disclosed. Avendus, founded in 1999, has been valued at around Rs. 330 crores. Before the equity sale, the three initial promoters, Ranu Vohra, Gaurav Deepak and Kaushal Aggarwal, and the employees of Avendus held around 70% stake, while Spanish institutional investor Americorp held 20% and entrepreneur-investor from California, Anil Godhwani held the remaining 10%. Once the deal is finalized, there will be corresponding reduction in the stake held by each promoter.

Mayfield has already partnered Avendus to raise a $200 mn offshore fund which would invest in Indian projects, and is expected to be set up by July-August. Avendus has seen a strong growth over last couple of years. Its annual revenues are expected to cross $12 mn in 2006-07. The organisation employs approximately around 40 professionals.

The investment bank focuses on wealth management, institutional broking and debt solutions. It is also offering private equity syndication, advice on M&As, and strategic advisory services to corporates and funds. It is now in the process of expanding its operations abroad by opening offices in New York and Munich. Avendus focuses on industries where Indian companies have a strategic growth advantage including IT services, IT-enabled services, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, media and consumer products and services. The most recent deal cracked by Avendus was to help AnandRathi Securities to dilute around 20% stake in favour of CVC International, for around Rs. 100 crores (See Related Post).

Read The Economic Times article.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

SEBI, RBI conduct studies for regulating PE funds

If media reports are to be believed, then private equity funds are in for a tough time ahead in the Indian markets. PE funds may come under the regulatory scanner in India, and though the ultimate regulator has not been decided upon, both Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have formed study groups to analyze the structure and impact of such funds on the investors, the companies in which they invest in and their effect on corporate governance.

The issue has gained importance as a working group of International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) has been set up to study the impact of private equity funds on emerging markets. The Indian market regulator is the chairman of IOSCO’s emerging market committee, and will also have consultative discussions with other regulators during the 32nd annual conference of IOSCO to be hosted by SEBI in India this year.

Based on the joint findings of the study, the regulators may issue guidelines for listing and registration of such funds, for ensuring better monitoring. The purpose of the study is to ascertain if the actual investors in a private equity fund are loosing out during leveraged buyouts, de-listing and re-listing of the company.

Read more in the Business Standard article.

TCS sells 40% stake Sitel India to JV partner Sitel for $17.73 mn

Business Standard reports that Tata Consultancy Services has divested its 40% stake in the BPO firm Sitel India to US-based Sitel Corporation for $17.732 mn. Sitel India is a joint venture between the Tata Group and Sitel Corporation, formed in 2000, with both parties holding 50% of the equity. Tata International, which holds 10% stake in the JV, has also agreed to sell its stake. The joint venture company provides voice-based contact centre BPO services from India. With over 4000 professionals, the JV is a provider of fully integrated customer care and back office processing services operating from five centers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon.

Marwadi Shares raises second round of funding from UK-based Caledonia Investments

Rajkot-based equity broking house Marwadi Shares & Finance Limited has completed a second round of private equity placement from another UK-based Caledonia Investments Plc, after its first phase of investment from India Capital Growth Fund Limited in December 2006. Caledonia Investments has picked up a 19.67% stake in Marwadi Shares for around Rs. 42 crores. Marwadi Shares and Finance is a decade-old financial services group offering stock broking and commodity broking firm on the NSE, BSE, NCDEX and MCX.

Marwadi Shares has emerged as the fifth broking house in the country and the first broking house from Gujarat to have private equity placement from a foreign player. It had initially planned a route into the capital markets and raise about Rs. 60 crores through and initial public offering, but postponed the plan and instead decided to raise funds through private equity placement. The company has now revised its equity raising pattern from Rs. 60 crores to Rs. 73.5 crores and has managed to disburse a 33% stake.

Read the article in Business Standard.
Related Post:
Rajkot-based broking house gets PE funding from UK-based India Capital Growth Fund

Monday, March 26, 2007

Tarun Kataria to head HSBC’s India CIB operations

The Economic Times reports that Tarun Kataria, a managing director at HSBC in Hong Kong, will move to India for heading the Indian corporate and investment banking, and capital markets operations of HSBC. Mr. Kataria is an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, and had earlier worked for Merrill Lynch and Chase Manhattan in the United States.

Glenmark acquires 90% stake in Czech firm Medicamenta

The Economic Times reports that domestic pharma company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has acquired a majority stake in Czech firm Medicamenta through its wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary, Glenmark Holdings SA. As per the Czech Law, a holding of more than 90% shares in a company would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for the remaining shares. Glenmark will acquire more than 90% in Medicamenta. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Mumbai-headquartered Glenmark employs 400 scientists and 4000 staff. It sells its products in over 80 countries worldwide and had recorded revenues of $250 mn in the last fiscal year. Medicamenta's projected revenues for 2007 are about $8 mn. The Czech firm has 60 employees and manufactures 29 solid and semi-solid formulations.

SCA and Godrej Consumer Products form JV for hygiene products in India

Swedish consumer and paper goods company SCA and Indian FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products Limited are forming a 50:50 JV, christened as Godrej SCA Hygiene Limited, for the manufacturing and marketing of absorbent hygiene products such as sanitary napkins and baby diapers, in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The joint venture is being set up with an equity capital of Rs. 20 crores through equal investments by both the companies.

For more details, read the press release here.

ADM Capital to invest $107 mn in textile firm S Kumar's and retail arm Brandhouse

Hong Kong-based private equity firm ADM Capital is investing $107 mn into textiles firm S Kumar's Nationwide Limited and its retail arm Brandhouse Retail. ADM will invest $82 mn to acquire a 10% stake in S Kumar's and $25 mn will be invested in Brandhouse Retail for another 10% stake in the company. S Kumar's will issue convertible warrants to ADM Capital. The deal values the S Kumar's share at Rs. 82.5, while the Brandhouse Retail share has been valued at Rs. 85. S Kumar's will utilize $30 mn to repay lenders, while $52 mn will be used to fund capital expenditure plans.

S Kumar's is a Mumbai-based Rs. 1000-crore textiles and apparel conglomerate. It operates in the worsted, ready-to-wear, consumer textiles, home textiles segments. Brandhouse Retail, which was de-merged from S Kumars, will utilize the entire $25 mn to fuel growth plans. It is also expected to be listed on the exchanges as a separate entity by August. Brandhouse will invest Rs. 400 crores to open 1000 stores across the country over the next three years. It owns and operates S Kumar's apparel and textile showrooms and manages international brands such as Dunhill, Escada and Stephens Brothers.

Read more in the DNA Money article.
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CVC International to pick up 19.9% stake in Mumbai-based brokerage firm AnandRathi

Citigroup Venture Capital International, one of the prominent private equity investors in Indian businesses has agreed to pick up a 19.9% stake in leading Mumbai-based broking firm AnandRathi Securities. The funds will be utilized for expansion purposes and also for meeting working capital requirements. The company has not disclosed the size of the deal and the price at which the stake is being acquired by CVC International.

AnandRathi offers broking and other market-related services to its customers through a network of 150 branches and over 200 business associates spread across the country.
AnandRathi has achieved reasonably good presence in retail, institutional broking and has taken a foothold in segments like wealth management, IPO and insurance products distribution. Broking accounts for 50-60% of the business while non-broking activities like investment banking, MF, IPO distribution and advisory services account for the rest.

AnandRathi follows a long list of other Indian brokerage and i-banking firms that raised monies through the private equity route in the recent past. Motilal Oswal Securities, India Infoline, Edelweiss Securities, IL&FS Investsmart and Indiabulls Financial Services are some names that have raised funding from PE firms for growth and expansion.

Read The Economic Times article.
Related Post:
Citigroup VC may invest $15 mn in AnandRathi

Friday, March 23, 2007

ASK calls off JV with Raymond James

The ASK-Raymond James JV is no more. Brothers Asit and Sameer Koticha-owned ASK Investment & Financial Consultants has bought out the 50% strategic stake from Raymond James Financial, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Raymond James will not have any presence in India post-deal. The Kotichas have kept their options open on having financial partner or strategic investor in the future.

Subsequent to the buyback, the 50% shares will remain with the two brothers-Asit and Sameer. In the new holding pattern, the two brothers will hold 75% shares and another 25% will stay with Bharat Shah, who will be heading the ASK Investment Managers Private Limited. The ASK Group also plans to enter mutual fund, real estate and NBFC businesses.

Read the Business Standard article.

Warburg Pincus appoints former McKinsey executive as MD at Mumbai office

The Economic Times reports that Leo Puri, a former executive at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, has been appointed managing director by Warburg Pincus for its India office. Mr. Puri is a post-graduate in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University, and was a co-leader of the financial services practice in Asia for McKinsey. He will begin at Warburg's New York office in April, and will move to its Mumbai office later. Mr. Puri’s appointment seems to fill in the gap created by ex-MD Pulak Prasad’s exit from Warburg Pincus some time back.

Torrent in association with Fortress Investment Group and Greater Pacific Capital for Merck bid

The partners of Torrent Pharmaceuticals, in its bid to acquire Merck’s generics business unit, have come to light. New York-based private equity and hedge fund manager Fortress Investment Group and London-based private equity player Greater Pacific Capital, in association with Torrent Pharma, are close to bagging the over $2 bn-worth global generics business of Merck. This consortium and Israeli pharma company Teva may be the only two left in the fray with the other two global pharma majors Mylan and Actavis having dropped out of the race.

Fortress Investment Group has $30 bn in assets under management. This New York-headquartered group is largely into the businesses of private equity and hedge funds management. The private equity business of Fortress Investment Group manages approximately $17.5 bn of assets under management.

The other private equity firm, Greater Pacific Capital based at London, is a much smaller player with under $1 bn assets under management currently. Greater Pacific’s CEO and founder partner is Ketan Patel who was previously a managing director in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs, where he founded the Goldman Sachs Strategic Group, a think tank at Goldman Sachs. Greater Pacific Capital invests primarily in equity or equity-related securities in public and private companies in India and China.

If this deal were to come through, it would be one of the biggest by an Indian company in the pharmaceutical sector. Torrent Pharma will have a minority stake while a big chunk of the funding will be done by Fortress Capital. If this consortium wins the bid then Torrent Pharma will manage the entire generics business, while the private equity players will be financial investors.

Read The Economic Times article.

HCL Technologies may bid for Cambridge Solutions

One of India’s premier IT companies, the $1.1 bn-HCL Technologies may bid for Cambridge Solutions, one of the top BPO outfits of the country, valued at around $350 mn. If the deal sails through, it may be the biggest M&A ever in the Indian IT space.

HCL has signaled early interest to acquire around 42% promoter holding put up for sale. The promoters of Cambridge have mandated Lehman Brothers to scout for potential suitors. The promoters of Cambridge, which includes names like ex-McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta, the US-Canadian Bronfman family of Seagram fame, serial investor Ramesh Vangal and former PepsiCo chairman Chris Sinclair, together hold 59.15% stake. It is learnt that Mr. Vangal, who is the single largest individual investor with around 18% stake, is unlikely to offer his shares.

Almost two-thirds of Cambridge’s revenues comes from high-end BPO operations spread across the US, India and Europe. It has a strong presence in the lucrative insurance processing domain, with around 2000 of its total 4500 employees located in the US. HCL has BPO operations at nine centres in India, two in the UK and one in Malaysia, which provide both voice and non-voice services. The BPO operations constitute around 17% of revenues and employ around 10,000 people.

Read the article in The Economic Times.
Related Post:
Scandent to sell stake in Cambridge Solutions; Apollo, Fidelity, EDS approached

Dabur to buy 60% stake in Singapore-based FMCG company Unza for Rs. 675 crores

Dabur is about to acquire over 60% stake in Singapore-based consumer goods company Unza Holdings for Rs. 600-675 crores. Dabur is expected to buy out the holdings of private equity funds Actis and Standard Chartered who hold 30% each in the $150 mn-Singapore company. The deal is touted to be one of the largest overseas acquisition deals in the FMCG space, and make it the third-largest FMCG company in India behind HLL and ITC with manufacturing facilities in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Unza is a leading personal care manufacturer and marketer in South-east Asia with 48 brands in its portfolio, and is equally owned by the company management and the two private equity funds.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Kotak PE invests Rs. 100 crores in logistics firm DRS Logistics, $12 mn in Home Solutions Retail

Kotak Mahindra Bank, through its private equity fund, the India Growth Fund, has invested Rs. 100 crores in Hyderabad-based DRS Logistics, better known by its brand name Agarwal Packers and Movers. The funding would be used to set up logistics parks across six cities where land has already been acquired.

The Rs. 200 crore-company has also applied to the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) to kick off an air cargo airline in the country. Besides, it is in talks for leasing two aircrafts to operate services in six sectors, covering the four metros and Bangalore and Hyderabad.

DRS owns warehousing infrastructure in Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai totaling 1.5 mn sq ft in space, and is looking to add an equal amount of space next year expanding to a total of six cities to set up logistics parks. The company plans to invest Rs. 150 crores on this.

Read the DNA Money article.

Kotak’s India Growth Fund is also investing $12 mn in Kishore Biyani’s Home Solutions Retail India Limited, which is set to roll out Home Town, its new format modeled on Home Depot. This is the second round of private equity investment in the company after ICICI Ventures invested $27.3 mn in October 2006.

Home Town will offer everything a customer would need to build, furnish and decorate a home including building material, paints, tiles, electrical and plumbing products and services, furnishings, furniture and consumer durables. According to estimates, the current home market in the country is estimated at between Rs. 75,000 crores and Rs. 100,000 crores which is largely serviced by the unorganized market.

The first Home Town is slated to roll out on March 31 from Noida and thereafter in six other cities within six to nine months in cities, including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Surat and Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs. 150-175 crores. Each of the Home Town formats, which will be spread over at least 125,000 sq. ft., will also incorporate e-Zone, the electronics lifestyle format and the Collection-i, furniture and home accessories formats.

Read the DNA Money article.

Intel Capital appoints Sudheer Kuppam as MD for Asia region

Sudheer Kuppam, Director of Flash Memory and Semiconductor Sector at Intel, will join Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel, as the Managing Director for India, Japan, Australasia and South-East Asia. He would be based in Bangalore and would be responsible for leading Intel’s investment strategies and expansion plans including placement of the $250 mn Intel Capital India Technology Fund.

IDG Ventures India to invest $2 mn in IT company Manthan Systems

The Economic Times reports that early-stage technology venture capital fund IDG Ventures India is making its first investment of $2 mn, out of a total fund size of $150 mn, in Manthan Systems. Manthan is a retail industry focused business intelligence and analytics software products company. The money raised from IDG Ventures would be utilized to build the sales team and product development teams. IDG Ventures Vice-Chairman and Managing Director India Sudhir Sethi will join the Board of Directors of Manthan Systems.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Top management re-jig at JM Financial post-Morgan Stanley break-up

Nimesh Kampani, after the separation of his firm JM Financial with JV partner Morgan Stanley, is re-organizing his operations to exploit future opportunities in the fast-growing Indian investment banking industry, with a view to give foreign investment banks, who are opening offices in India, a run for their money. A new management structure is being formalized for the group flagship company JM Financial by Mr. Kampani, who has carved up the operations of JM Financial into seven strategic business units to be managed by independent managing directors.

The investment banking business is split into corporate finance, M&A and global capital markets. Dipti Neelkantan, 48, who joined JM as a research analyst 25 years ago, has recently risen to the rank of MD & COO of the investment banking business. She is in charge of overall operations. Two MDs have been appointed for the corporate finance division, which is scaling up its operations. Nimesh Kampani’s son Vishal Kampani, 30, and BK Bansal, 53, will be heading this division. Adi Patel, 38, has been designated as head of the M&A division, while Atul Mehra, 39, has recently been elevated to the post of MD (global capital markets). Adi Patel, Atul Mehra and BK Bansal have been with JM for more than 15 years.

JM Financial is bringing in talent from outside to run the new-age businesses. Last month, Nityanath Ghanekar, 61, joined as CEO and MD of the mutual-fund business from global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. A few months ago, Dilip Kothari joined JM to head its private equity business from Olympus Capital. Rajeev Chitrabanu, 35, is CEO and MD of the financial services business, which includes wealth management and IPO distribution. Subodh Shinkar, 39, is the new COO of the division.

While Vipin Gupta, 35, is the MD of the fast-growing commodity business, Basant
Agarwal, 40, heads the special situations fund. JM Financial is also planning to create independent divisions for the fixed-income and research portfolios.

Edelweiss to start asset management and NBFC businesses; recruits senior people for the same

Leading domestic investment bank Edelweiss will commence asset management and non-banking financial company (NBFC) businesses by investing a total of Rs. 400 crores in the new ventures. Edelweiss would invest Rs. 300 crores for the NBFC business and another Rs. 100 crores for the asset management business. The NBFC would be looking at mortgage business and other credit instruments. Edelweiss had received in-principal approval from SEBI for the asset management company.

Edelweiss also announced the appointment of senior executives for its new business of NBFC and AMC businesses. R Balakrishnan, who will head the NBFC business, has been appointed executive vice-president of Edelweiss. Mr. Balakrishnan earlier worked as Senior VP & Head of Equity Research at DSP Merrill Lynch. Prior to Edelweiss, he was an independent consultant and part of the senior management team at credit rating agency CRISIL. For the AMC business, Edelweiss appointed Jimmy Patel as the CEO. Patel’s earlier stints include CEO and COO of JM Financial Mutual Fund and with the Principal Group, where he was in-charge of their pension initiative in India. Edelweiss also took on board Peeyoosh Chadda of Barclays as co-head of the AMC business.

Read the Business Standard article.

Credit Suisse forms JV with GE for emerging markets infra fund

Zurich-based universal bank Credit Suisse has entered into a joint venture with General Electric (GE) for an infrastructure fund. The fund will invest in emerging markets with a substantial portion devoted for investments in the Indian infrastructure sector. The size of the fund is estimated to be around a $ bn-plus. The fund-raising is currently going on. The announcement of the fund comes in the wake of the resumption of Credit Suisse’s institutional broking business in India, after a gap of six years. Credit Suisse was suspended from trading in India for two years from April 2001 to April 2003 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for alleged price manipulation.

The bank has roped in the services of V Anantharaman as head of investment banking in India. Mr. Anantharaman was earlier the head of corporate advisory services at Standard Chartered Bank.

Read the Business Standard article.
Related Post:
Credit Suisse launches Indian brokerage operations

Cargill Ventures invest $9 mn in IT firm KPIT Cummins

Cargill Ventures, the venture capital arm of Cargill, Inc., will invest a total of $9 mn in Indian IT consulting firm KPIT Cummins Infosystems. KPIT Cummins will issue shares of $4.5 mn on a preferential basis, in addition to warrants convertible into shares of up to $4.5 mn. The warrants will be convertible into shares at the end of 18 months from the date of issue-based on certain parameters.

Cargill is a privately held company with operations in 63 countries and revenues of over $75 bn. Cargill Ventures is a diversified growth-capital investor across the IT, life sciences and IT sectors.

Read more in the Business Standard article.

SAIL and Jaiprakash Associates in cement production JV

The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has entered into a 26:74 joint venture with Jaiprakash Associates for producing 2,2 mn tonnes of cement. The venture will spend Rs. 600 crores to set up the new plant. SAIL will hold 26% stake in the venture while the balance will be held by Jaiprakash. The clinker and partial grinding unit of the plant would be located in Satna in Madhya Pradesh and slag cement would be made in Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. The project is expected to be completed in 37 months.

Two unique things about the project are that, firstly, this is the first of its kind public-private partnership in the cement sector. Secondly, SAIL’s foray into cement production is important as cement prices have shot up in wake of demand overshooting supplies. The country’s current cement production capacity is 165 mn tonnes. About 30 mn tonnes of new capacity is expected to be added in a couple of years. SAIL currently sells slag to cement companies through medium-term contracts but the exercise is not enough for a total disposal of its stocks. The JV would enable the company for more productive use of the waste generated by it while producing steel.

The JV would use slag generated from SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant as basic feed for cement production, and has already signed a 30-year agreement with the Bhilai Steel Plant for supply of slag. SAIL is also looking at using its slag generated from Bokaro Steel Plant for conversion to cement.

Read The Economic Times article.

Merrill Lynch eyes stake in India Infoline distribution arm

US-based brokerage and investment bank Merrill Lynch has initiated talks with India Infoline for acquiring a significant stake in its distribution subsidiary, India Infoline Distribution Company Limited (IILD). Merrill had recently hiked its stake in India Infoline to 14.10%. It may pick up to 26% in IILD for over Rs. 150 crores. In December 2006, India Infoline sold its stake in the subsidiary Khambhat Investment & Trading Company Private Limited, a non-banking finance company, to Merrill Lynch.

Merrill Lynch plans to enter into the Indian mortgage business, and is accordingly planning a tie-up with India Infoline for the same. The company expects to create synergies with India Infoline as it has a wide retail network of over 200 branches. IILD, apart from the distribution of financial products such as mutual funds, IPOs and fixed deposits, also distributes mortgages and loan products.

Read more in the article in Business Standard.

Ujala maker Jyothy Laboratories plans Rs. 300 crore-IPO

Mumbai-based fast moving consumer goods company Jyothy Laboratories, famous for its Ujala brand of fabric whiteners, is planning to list on the stock exchanges by end of 2007. Jyothy Laboratories will raise Rs. 300 crores in an initial public offering. The company has reportedly appointed Kotak and Enam as advisors to the issue.

Jyothy Labs is a closely held company with about 70% stake being held by founder chairman and managing director M P Ramachandran and his family. The balance 30% is held by private equity firms CLSA and Actis along with a foreign subsidiary of ICICI Bank. The foreign investors are likely to exit the company at the time of the IPO.

Sales of Jyothy Laboratories are pegged at between Rs. 400-500 crores. The company is said to have been valued at around Rs. 1000 crores.

Read more on Moneycontrol.com.

IFC invests $5 mn in rural banking-focused IT firm FINO

The World Bank PE arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), will invest up to $5 mn in Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO), a technology service provider offering end-to-end IT solutions that help banks reach under-served rural markets in India. The investment comprises common equity of up to $2.5 mn and convertible preferred shares of up to $2.5 mn.

In India, IFC’s outstanding portfolio is $1.3 bn (as of June 2006) making it IFC’s fourth-largest country of operations. As the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, IFC has been showing interest to develop the Indian rural banking market.

Read The Economic Times article.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Chennai-based IT firm Quintegra acquires firms in US, Singapore

Chennai-based listed software firm Quintegra Solutions has acquired US-based ValleyUS and Jadelite Technologies of Singapore for a total consideration of $ 10.5 mn (Rs. 46.50 crores). ValleyUS cost $9.5 mn, while the Singapore firm $1 mn.

ValleyUS is focused on domains like client-server, legacy, CRM and e-commerce. It has partnership with big five IT consulting firms in the Silicon Valley. Its major client is publishing house CTB McGraw Hill. Others are EBay, Wal-Mart, E-trade, Wells Fargo Bank, Yahoo, Google and BEA Systems. The acquisition of JadeLite, which has award-winning ERP for educational sector, is expected to improve Quintegra’s market share in the education and training management software.

Quintegra had raised a loan of $5 mn from State Bank of India for part funding the takeover of ValleyUS. The balance amount is to be paid on an earn-out model over a period linked to the firm achieving certain milestones. The takeovers will increase his people strength to 600 from the current 400.

The US market accounts for bulk of company’s revenues and the takeover of ValleyUS has synergies to strengthen its presence there. The US firm had clocked revenues of Rs. 53 crores ($12 mn) for the year ended March 31, 2006 and it is projected to achieve Rs. 80 crores ($18 mn) in 2007-08. The Singapore firm is expected to achieve revenues of Rs. 80 to Rs. 90 crores in the next three years.

Read the article in The Economic Times.

SEBI eases listing agreement for debenture issues

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today has relaxed listing agreement for debentures. It has allowed companies issuing debentures on private placement, to submit their unaudited half-yearly results to the stock exchanges, instead of quarterly basis.

The regulator seems to be easing the guidelines with an objective to encourage more companies to tap the debenture market, which has been lying low for some time now. With the amendment, the debenture issuer companies would now be submitting unaudited half yearly results instead of unaudited quarterly results.

However, the half-yearly accounts would be subject to a limited review, which has to be done by the statutory auditors of the company. The SEBI has also made changes to the format which is to be used for reporting of the limited review.

Read the article in Business Standard.

Raymond James to buy out Indian partner ASK Investment Financial Consultants from ASK-Raymond James JV

US brokerage Raymond James Financial, Inc. may buy out the stake of its Indian partner, ASK Investment Financial Consultants. Competition in India's investment banking market has heated up dramatically, and foreign securities houses are now scrapping joint ventures to chase deals by themselves.

Last month, Morgan Stanley said it would spend a net $425 mn to split from its Indian partner, JM Financial. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $500 mn to lift its stake in its DSP Merrill Lynch joint venture to 90% from 40% in December 2005. Goldman Sachs announced plans last year to set up its own Indian investment banking and securities business after selling its stakes in two joint ventures to partner Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Read The Economic Times article.

Nakheel, DLF form JV for infrastructure development projects worth $12 bn

Delhi-based real estate giant DLF is reportedly forming a joint venture with Nakheel, the largest property development company in the United Arab Emirates. The JV is being formed for mega infrastructure development projects at an estimated cost of $10-12 bn.

Each project, one near the National Capital Region and the other in Maharashtra, along the coastal region, would be spread over 20,000 acres, and would involve the development of industrial infrastructure and township components, including residential, commercial, retail and recreational centres. Each partner would bring around $3 bn to the table while the remaining would be financed through debt.

Nakheel is behind some of the most iconic projects in the Middle East such as The Palm, The Dubai World and Dubai Waterfront. Nakheel currently has 17 major projects, worth more than $30 bn under development.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

BCCL to buy 3.5% in Refex Refrigerants

The Economic Times reports that Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL) will pick up a stake of around 3.5% in Chennai-based Refex Refrigerants, for an undisclosed sum. Refex is engaged in refilling-ozone friendly refrigerants and marketing refrigerant products in India. Refex is the only player in the country which has the distinction of refilling and marketing hydro-fluoro-carbons, which is a non-ozone depleting, environmentally safe refrigerant developed to replace chlorofluorocarbons in several air conditioning and refrigeration applications.

ICICI Ventures invests Rs. 82 crores in engineering firm Electrotherm

ICICI Ventures has invested Rs. 82 crores in engineering company Electrotherm India Limited, for an undisclosed stake. The investment will part-fund the second phase of Electrotherm’s expansion plans of Rs. 400 crores. In addition to the investment made by ICICI Ventures, the promoters would bring in Rs. 58 crores to meet the equity portion. Terms loans worth Rs. 200 crores and internal accruals of Rs. 60 crores would meet the balance funding requirements of the proposed expansion plans. The term loans have been sanctioned and disbursed and the Company has already invested Rs. 300 crores out of the total planned expenditure of Rs. 400 crores. KPMG Corporate Finance was the sole advisor for the transaction.

Electrotherm is an engineering and manufacturing company with major strength in power electronics. Leveraging its core strength in power electronics, the Company through its in house R&D facilities developed a battery-operated scooter, which has been a commercial success in Gujarat, and has also seen good response from other customers as well.

For more on Electrotherm, read the article on Equitybulls.com.

Essar Shipping share buyback fails; company to remain listed

Essar Shipping has failed in its buyback of shares and subsequent de-listing from the bourses. As a result, the company has decided to continue being listed on the stock exchanges. The Essar Shipping share buyback, being facilitated through a reverse book-building process, closed on March 16. The company has notified the exchanges that the buyback offer for its de-listing did not get sufficient bids.

The company had fixed the floor price for the buyback offer at Rs. 31.62. Maximum number of bids was believed to have been received at a price of Rs. 50-51 per share, while 15-20 mn bids were even received at a price of Rs. 75 per share. However, the total number of bids was not adequate to move ahead with the delisting process.

Meanwhile, the delisting process of another two group companies, Essar Oil and Essar Steel has been progressing as planned. The ballot papers have been sent to the shareholders and after they are returned, a public notice would be made and delisting would commence through RRB, after market regulator SEBI fixes the floor price for both the stocks.

Read The Economic Times article.
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Essar Group to de-list Essar Steel and Essar Oil

Credit Suisse launches Indian brokerage operations

Zurich-based global bank Credit Suisse has launched of its securities brokerage operations in India. Credit Suisse holds a broker dealer license in the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange and will focus on equity sales and trading and research in India. Initially, the India operations will be run by about 40 people with addition of 20-30 more over the year.

The company would later bring the full range of its products including asset management and private banking as regulations for financial services in India open up. The company would also offer investment banking services in new equity issuance and merger and acquisition activities at a later stage.

Credit Suisse acted as the lead financial adviser to the UK-based steel major Corus in its acquisition by Tata Steel. Credit Suisse is also leading the provision of financing Tata Steel in the deal.

Read The Economic Times article.

AIG Capital India acquires housing fiancé company Weizmann Homes

AIG Capital India will acquire Bangalore-based housing finance company Weizmann Homes Limited. AIG Capital India is the wholly-owned Indian subsidiary of US-based financial services giant American International Group, Inc. the company is being bought from Weizmann Limited, Federal Bank, Asian Investment & Finance Corporation Limited and other minority shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in April 2007.

Weizmann Homes is a 12-year-old, Bangalore-based housing finance company, with a branch network across 33 cities in India.

This is the second acquisition this year by AIG Capital India in the Indian retail finance industry. Earlier, it had earlier acquired a controlling stake in Chennai-based Vivek Hire Purchase and Leasing.

For more, read the press release on Moneycontrol.com.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Trinity Capital makes another pre-IPO investment in Fortis Healthcare for Rs. 87 crores

UK-based private equity fund Trinity Capital has increased its stake in Ranbaxy group-promoted Fortis Healthcare Limited to 4% from 1%, through an additional investment of Rs. 87 crores in 6 mn equity shares of Fortis Healthcare. Earlier, in January 2007, Trinity had made an initial investment of Rs. 28 crores for 2 mn equity shares of Fortis Healthcare. The private placements have been in the run up to the initial public offer, to be announced by Fortis Healthcare, during the first quarter of the financial year 2007-08.

Fortis Healthcare currently has a network of 11 hospitals, primarily in North India, and 16 satellite and heart command centers (including one heart command center in Afghanistan). The hospitals include multi specialty hospitals as well as super-specialty centers, providing tertiary and quaternary healthcare to patients in areas such as cardiac care, orthopedics, neurosciences, oncology, renal care, gastroenterology and mother and child care.

The book running lead managers to the issue are JM Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets and Kotak Mahindra Capital.

Read the article in Business Standard.

Textile firm RSWM picks up 48.17% in Cheslind Textiles for around Rs. 28 crores

Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills (RSWM), an LNJ Bhilwara Group textile company, has acquired a 48.17% equity stake in Bangalore-based Cheslind Textiles from its promoters for Rs. 27.8 crores. Cheslind is a 100% export-oriented unit manufacturing cotton yarn with a turnover of about Rs. 120 crores. Post-acquisition, RSWM would become one of the top yarn manufacturers in terms of the number of spindles. ICICI Securities was the advisor for this transaction.

RSWM is also making an open offer for acquiring another 20% of Cheslind at a price of Rs. 25 per share, at a 16% premium to Cheslind’s closing market price on the bourses. A successful open offer would take the cumulative acquisition cost for 68.17% equity stake in Cheslind Textiles at Rs. 39.3 crores. The acquisition will be financed through internal accruals.

The acquisition brings in a basket of products including super fine count cotton yarns and would also provide RSWM with an established foothold in the international market. The deal would bring an additional 64,500 spindles under RSWM taking its total spindlage to about 360,000 spindles, pegging it amongst the top yarn manufacturers in the country.

Read the article in The Economic Times.
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Textile firm RSWM planning acquisitions in India, Europe

Torrent Pharma bids $5-6 bn for Merck's generics business; Ranbaxy pulls out

Two surprising developments have taken place with the Merck deal. Ahmedabad-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals has reportedly emerged as one of the aggressive bidders for German pharma major Merck’s generics business. Torrent has valued Merck Generics at a whopping $5-6 bn. Torrent has made the bid with the help of private equity funds. With this, Torrent joins the league of global pharma giants like Teva, Mylan Laboratories, Novartis and Actavis who are in vying for Merck's generics business. At the home turf, it is pitted against pharma companies Cipla and Ranbaxy.

Also, it has been learnt that Ranbaxy is pulling out of Merck bid on account of concerns of over-valuation. Ranbaxy was being advised by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on the deal.

Opto Circuits to buy European medical equipment firm for around €16 mn

Bangalore-based Opto Circuits India Limited is planning to acquire a medical devices company in Western Europe. The name of the company has not been disclosed. The deal, estimated to be around €16 mn, is likely to be an all-cash deal and would most likely be concluded early in the next financial year.

The European company manufactures a wide range of balloon catheters assemblies and related products for coronary and other applications. Opto Circuits has a presence in the non-invasive medical devices segment.

In January 2006, Opto Circuits acquired Germany’s EuroCor GmbH for Rs. 60 crores. EuroCor designs and manufactures stents.

Read more in the DNA Money article.

Andhra state government housing firm Deccan Infra to list; to raise Rs. 2000 crores

Andhra Pradesh Housing Board (APHB) subsidiary, Deccan Infrastructure & Land Holdings Limited (DILH) will raise up to Rs. 2000 crores through an initial public offering, most likely to come out in June – July. The company will divest 15-20% equity. The Government of Andhra Pradesh holds 49% equity and the APHB 51% in DILH. Deccan Infra is into the development of integrated townships and urban infrastructure either on its own or through JVs with other public bodies and private-sector companies. The managers to the issue are JM Morgan Stanley, DSP Merrill Lynch and SBI Capital Markets.

Based on the track record of its parent and armed with a land bank of about 8000 acres, Deccan is valued at over Rs. 12,000 crores on the lower side. Property consultants Trammell Crow Meghraj and Cushman Wakefield are carrying out a valuation exercise on the land bank.

Read the article in DNA Money.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Dutch firm Robeco to buy 49% in Canbank MF

Dutch asset manager Robeco Groep NV, a part of European banking giant Rabobank Groep, will buy 49% stake in Canara Bank's asset management arm to gain a foothold in the Indian mutual fund industry.

Robeco has assets under management of €139 bn worldwide and posted operating profits of €233 mn in 2005. It will pay Rs. 115 crores to Canara Bank for its stake in Canbank Investment Management Services Limited (CIMS).

Reserve Bank has given its assent to the proposed venture, and approval from market regulator SEBI and Foreign Investment Promotion Board would be sought soon.

In all, India has 32 mutual fund players with total AUMs of more than Rs. 350,000 crores. Canbank is a relatively smaller player with AUMs of about Rs. 2200 crores.

The asset management company, to be called Canara Robeco, would aim to capture 5% market share in the next five years. The JV would float five new products, especially equity-based, in the coming months.

Read The Economic Times article.

UTI Bank to set up $500 mn offshore fund

The effects of the change in the pass-through status of domestic private equity firms are already showing on the players concerned. UTI Bank is now planning to set up a $500 mn-offshore fund. The bank had earlier received SEBI approval to start a PE fund in India as a domestic venture capital. It will now file for a fresh application as a foreign venture capital investor. The proposed $500 mn fund will also mark the entry of UTI Bank in private equity.

Of the total equity of $500 mn, UTI Bank will provide $50 mn equity as its principal sponsor. The remaining part of the corpus will be raised from foreign institutional investors and the like. The investments will be made through the bank’s subsidiary UBL AMC.

Since the mandate of the proposed fund will be to invest in infrastructure projects, it does not fall in the nine sectors identified in this year’s budget where venture capital funds registered in India will continue to enjoy a pass-through status. Tax exemptions will now only apply to biotechnology, nanotechnology, IT hardware/software, R&D for new chemical entities, seed research, dairy, poultry bio-fuels and large hotel-cum-convention centres. Till now, private equity funds were exempted from I paying tax with its investors paying capital gains tax. According to the change in rules, the fund will also pay taxes if its investment does not fall in the nine specified sectors.

Read the article in The Economic Times.

Sharekhan to raise funds for expansion

Sharekhan is planning to raise funding for its aggressive expansion plans. Sharekhan is the retail broking arm of Mumbai-based financial services group SSKI. The company has held discussions with investment banks for raising resources. These may be in the form of an initial public offering, private placement, debt or a combination of all of these.

As earlier reported in the media, the promoters of the firm, the Morakhia family, also the single largest shareholder in the company, are not planning to quit the firm as yet. Private equity firm General Atlantic had invested about Rs. 144 crores ($31 mn) in April 2006 in the company through a combination of primary investment in the company and secondary investment through buying out the entire shareholding of First Carlyle Ventures. The other investors in the retail and online brokerage outfit are Intel Capital and a group of funds advised by HSBC Private Equity India.

Sharekhan is among the top five retail brokerage outfits in the country with over 100 branches across 150 cities. The investment banking and the institutional brokerage outfit of the group, SSKI has no fund raising plans.

Read the Business Standard article.

Reliance Industries in JV talks with US-based Nova Chemicals

Apart from Dow Chemicals, it is learnt that Reliance Industries is said to be in advanced stage of discussions with North American plastics and petrochemicals major Nova Chemicals as part of its bid to spread wings to foreign shores. The possible alliance could include product swaps, infrastructure sharing as well as joint exploration of business growth opportunities.

Nova Chemicals has a market capitalization of about $2.5 bn, and has seven manufacturing facilities in the US, six in Canada and two others in South America, while it is also present in Europe through various joint ventures. It has an annual turnover of over $6.5 bn.

Read more in the Business Standard article.
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Reliance Industries giving shape to global ambitions; in talks with Carrefour, Dow Chemicals for strategic alliances

SEBI to allow hedge funds direct entry into Indian capital markets

The capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is considering direct participation of hedge funds in the Indian stock markets. SEBI has invited hedge funds to register with the regulator and invest in the Indian stock markets without the cover of participatory notes, currently the most preferred route of hedge funds for channeling investments in the Indian markets.

Participatory notes are often seen as tools for money laundering and there have been numerous calls, including from the Reserve Bank of India, to curtail them. It is widely estimated that 48% of the $50 bn investment by foreign institutional investors in the Indian markets has come through offshore participatory notes. Allowing hedge funds direct entry will help SEBI track the source of funds coming into the capital markets more efficiently. It is difficult to track the source of funds coming in through participatory notes.

SEBI’s thinking was articulated by its chairman, M Damodaran, at a meeting organized by ICICI Securities in Singapore early this month, which foreign investors, including several hedge funds, attended.

Read more in the article in Business Standard.

The Times Group acquires 5% stake in Ahmedabad-based IT firm

Bennett, Coleman & Company (BCCL) will acquire around 5% stake in Ahmedabad-based IT firm Sai InfoSystem (SIS), for an undisclosed sum. SIS offers total IT solutions to end users comprising hardware, software, networking and related services. It operates in the area of system integration, call-centre solutions and has been focusing on four verticals namely telecom, power, defence and the state government, and has added two more verticals, retail and gaming.

The company may come up with an initial public offering in three years.

Read The Economic Times article.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Zydus Cadila acquires Liva Healthcare

Ahmedabad-based pharma company Zydus Cadila has acquired a 97.5% stake in Liva Healthcare in an all-cash deal. The acquisition will be funded through cash accruals and debt.

Zydus expects the acquisition of Liva Healthcare will help the former to establish its presence in the Rs. 1500 crores derma segment, seventh largest therapeutic segment in the Indian pharma market. The market for dermatology products has grown at a CAGR of 14.1% over the last three years.

Zydus’ domestic formulations business contributes to over 50% of the group's turnover with as many as 17 brands amongst the top 300 pharma brands in India. In the participated segments, the group is a leader in the cardiovascular, gastro-intestinal, women's healthcare segments and has a strong presence in the respiratory, pain management and anti-infective segments.

Liva Healthcare is growing at more than 15%. It is a profit making company and it is likely to post sales in excess of Rs. 37 crores in 2006-07. Zydus Cadila has a turnover of Rs. 1800 crores. In the past, the group acquired Recon Healthcare, German Remedies, Banyan Chemicals and Alpharma France.

Read the article in Business Standard.

Sun Pharma to hive off R&D work into new company SPARC

Sun Pharmaceuticals will spin off its research and development (R&D) activities into a new company called Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC). The transfer will include the company’s New Chemical Entity (NCE) and New Drug Delivery System (NDDS) programmes, which have an estimated 100 scientists.

Sun Pharma will infuse $45 mn into the new company, to enable it to sustain its operations until revenues from out-licensing deal start flowing in. The company could be looking at raising funds for its new company through equity or debt. It is planning to invest $60 to $65 mn in the new research company in the next three years. Research for generic drugs will remain with the main company.

The de-merger will offer investors an option to separately hold investments in businesses with different return characteristics, depending on their risk and return expectations. The new research company, SPARC, is being valued at more than $450 mn. Simultaneously, the de-merger of Sun Pharma’s innovative R&D business could significantly de-risk the company’s core business.

Read the article in The Economic Times.

UTI Mutual Fund poaches top Sundaram BNP Paribas fund manager Anoop Bhaskar

The Times of India reports that Anoop Bhaskar of Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, and one of the top fund managers in the industry, will join UTI Mutual Fund. Anoop Bhaskar is the head of equities at Chennai-based Sundaram BNP Mutual Fund. He will join UTI Mutual Fund in the same position. Bhaskar is one of the most active, and one of the better-performing fund managers in the Indian mutual fund industry.

Spices company McCormick planning to acquire Indian spice firms Eastern, Lalah's

US-based McCormick, the world’s largest spice and seasoning company, is scouting for other Indian companies after its failure to buy MTR Foods, later bought by Orkla Foods of Norway. McCormick is looking at some other South-based spice brands such as Eastern and Lalah’s.

The Rs. 170 crore-Eastern is one of the bigger local players in the packaged spices market. Eastern, with a predominant presence in the southern markets, has been interested in a better national spread through the inorganic route. Private equity firm New Vernon is already an investor in the company. It’s learnt that the McCormick team had also visited other players in the packaged spice market such as MDH and Lalah's.

McCormick’s joint venture company in India, the Kochi-based AVT McCormick, engaged in processing and exports of spices, is reportedly helping the US company with its acquisition plans. McCormick’s Indian JV, which kicked off in 1994, exports Rs. 100 crores worth of value-added spices to developed markets. AVT has over eight decades of experience in agri-business including rubber, tea and a portfolio of spices.

Read The Economic Times article.

Chinese aluminium firm buys 50% stake in Indian plant

The Times of India reports that Chinese aluminium firm Qingtongxia Aluminium Group is acquiring a 50% stake in an aluminium project of Ashapura Minechem in western India. The outlay on this project is somewhere around $651 mn. This is the first, and the biggest, Chinese investment in India in the aluminium sector. Qingtongxia has obtained approval from the National Development and Reforms Commission, the country's top planning body. The proposed facility will have an annual capacity of 1 mn tonnes annually.

IndusInd Bank to issue GDRs worth Rs. 140 crores by March-end

The Hinduja Group-controlled IndusInd Bank is planning to raise around Rs. 140 crores through global depository receipts (GDR) by March 2007. The bank will issue close to 30 mn shares which will listed at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. CLSA has been appointed as the lead manager to the issue. The fresh infusion of capital will bring the promoter holding down to about 28% from 31.3%. The foreign holding in the bank will increase to 25 % from about 17%. The GDR issue will help enable the bank to boost its capital adequacy ratio to 11.25% from 11.10%. It is also planning to raise Rs. 50 crores through issuance of lower Tier-II bonds. The post-issue paid-up capital of the bank will rise to Rs. 320 crores from Rs. 290 crores.

The capital raising will enable IndusInd to pursue new business lines like wealth management and asset reconstruction. It is also planning to expand its presence overseas by setting up an offshore banking unit in Singapore. At present, the bank has representative offices in Dubai and London.

Read more on IndusInd Bank in the article in Business Standard.

Areva ups bid price for REpower to €140 / share; Suzlon mulling counter-bidding options

It seems to be the seasons for biddings and counter-biddings. French energy major Areva has upped the price for acquiring Germany’s third-largest wind power company, REpower Systems AG, by putting in a counter-bid of €140 per share. Areva had earlier made an offer to buy stake in REpower at €105 per share, and its revised offer is 33.3% higher than the first bid. The new figure is 11.1% higher than the Suzlon Energy-Martifer's offer of €126 per share. Suzlon had recently received the approval of German regulator for its bid for REpower Systems. It had offered €1.2 bn ($1.33 bn) to acquire REpower Systems.

Read the Business Standard article.
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Suzlon Energy bids $1.3 bn for German company REpower

It is learnt that Suzlon Energy is likely to revise its offer to buy out REpower. The company is in talks with a consortium of banks led by ABN-AMRO and may come out with a revised offer of close to €160 per share, which will raise the value of REpower to $1.7 bn. Areva’s revised offer has raised the value of REpower to $1.5 bn.

REpower, Germany’s third-largest maker of wind-power equipment behind Vestas Wind Systems and Enercon, reported a profit of €7.1 mn in 2006. In Germany, REpower has a 10% market share.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

ITC Foods to bid for UK’s pickles and spices brands Patak’s

ITC Foods may turn out to put in a formal bid for Britain’s popular pickles and Indian curries brand Patak’s. Heinz, which already has a partnership with Patak’s, is also said to be interested in the company. The valuation of Patak’s has been put around £200 mn, which is considered to be bit pricier for potential partners or buyers. ITC Foods has been approached by Patak’s investment banker NM Rothschild with a proposal.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

German shipping major inks JV with Shipping Corporation of India

The Times of India reports that German shipping company Peter Dohle Schiffahrts KG, one of the largest privately held shipping company in the world has entered into a JV with India's largest shipping company, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). The 50:50 JV mainly entails jointly operating bulk carriers and container ships. The venture is likely to be kicked-off shortly with the formation of a company either in India or overseas. Initially, both companies plan to deploy bulk carriers in the joint venture company. A little later, the fleet will be expanded to more bulk carriers or container ships, depending on market conditions.

Ex-Merrill Lynch India i-banking unit head Munesh Khanna starts $300 mn distressed assets PE fund

Former head of investment banking at Merrill Lynch India Munesh Khanna has raised $300 mn-private equity fund to invest in companies that are distressed or need management help to revive their finances.

Munesh Khanna’s new private equity firm Halcyon Group, has been started along with Narayan Seshadri, ex-head of Andersen Business Consulting in India, and Abhay Soi, who oversaw the financial restructuring group at Ernst & Young. Halcyon will target annual returns of 25%, and would make investments in asset-backed businesses, including textile and paper manufacturers.

Munesh Khanna oversaw the Indian unit of NM Rothschild and worked at Arthur Andersen in India for 17 years before he joined Merrill Lynch. Amit Chandra, his former boss at Merrill Lynch, is also starting a private-equity fund, called New Silk Route Partners.

Read more in the Business Standard article.

JP Morgan in talks with Enam for strategic alliance; may buy stake in the latter

Vallabh Bhansali-controlled Enam Financial Consultants, one of the leading home-grown investment banks in India, is learnt to be in talks with JP Morgan for a strategic alliance, and might also include acquisition of equity in Enam, with talks being at an advanced stage.

Lehman Brothers, which had also expressed interest in Enam earlier, is learnt to be out of the race, making JP Morgan the sole candidate for a strategic tie-up. JP Morgan was looking at buying 50 % stake in Enam. JP Morgan had ended its joint venture with ICICI Securities in the late nineties, and has not been very active in the Indian capital market since then.

While JP Morgan is among the top five players in the institutional broking business in India, Enam is a major player in investment banking and in the equity capital market. With its network of over 5000 dedicated franchisees, Enam mobilizes approximately 25% of all funds raised in the Indian equity markets. It is also one of the largest underwriters in India. The company also provides investment banking, corporate advisory, equity, debt and capital market services to companies and institutions.

Read more in the article in Business Standard.

Trinity Capital to pump in $10 bn to develop satellite towns around Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore

Business Standard reports that the New York-based real estate investment fund Trinity Capital has lined up $10 bn, which may go up to $12 bn, to develop three satellite cities on the outskirts of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. Each of the satellite townships, to be built over a 1000 acre spread, will see an investment of $2 bn – $4 bn. Trinity is also in the process of lining up $2.5 bn for investing across 10,000 hotel rooms in the country over the next five years.

Sical Logistics to receive Rs. 110 crores private equity from IDFC; to hive off non-core activities

Sical Logistics Limited will receive private equity funding of around Rs. 110 crores from IDFC Private Equity from its IDFC Private Equity Fund II. The proposed investment would be through a preferential issue of equity shares. SSKI Corporate Finance was the advisor to Sical for the fund raising exercise.

Sical intends to become a pure play integrated logistics provider. It is now in the final stages of divesting its non-logistics businesses. As part of this process, Sical proposes to de-merge the non-logistics businesses comprising of trading undertakings, services undertaking and coffee plantations as per the de-merger scheme approved by the board. The ratio for issue of shares upon de-merger has been endorsed by Ernst & Young. Additionally, Sical is also hiving off some of the other non-core businesses including palm oil, refractory, auto, drums, agri-bio products, specialty chemicals and flexible shafts. Buyers have been identified and relevant due diligence exercises are currently in the last stages. It is expected that a significant portion of the hive off exercise will be completed within FY 2007.

Read more on Sical Logistics in Moneycontrol.com.

Reliance Industries giving shape to global ambitions; in talks with Carrefour, Dow Chemicals for strategic alliances

Reliance Industries is reportedly in talks with French retail major Carrefour as well as other global players for acquiring controlling stake in these companies to reach out to international consumers with its basket of Indian food produce.

Reliance has created a war-chest of Rs. 100,000 crores and is looking to create international business arms for accessing global markets by leveraging on its supply chain that was put in place as part of the farm-to-fork project. Besides Carrefour, Reliance is also talking to Tier-2 companies like Salisbury and Marks and Spencer for food business.

Carrefour on its part has denied any sort of discussions with Reliance for either a controlling stake in the former or a joint venture. In a related development, Reliance is also in talks with Dow Chemicals and is expected to form a petrochemical JV.

Daiwa Securities plans India Equity Fund for Japanese investors

Business Standard reports that Daiwa Securities SMBC Company Limited, the investment banking joint venture between two of Japan's largest financial groups, is planning to launch an India Equity Fund to enable Japanese investors invest in India's emerging market. The fund likely to be launched within by 2007 would invest only in the listed stocks. Daiwa had earlier raised $750 mn of Japanese funds for Indian markets. The current value of the fund stood at $1 bn following the growth in the market.

Times Group to acquire 667,000 shares in textile firm Sumeet Industries

Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL) has entered into an agreement to acquire 667,000 equity shares in Surat-based textile firm Sumeet Industries. Sumeet is a public-listed company engaged in the manufacturing and export of synthetic textile yarn and export of yarn and fabrics. The funds raised may be used to fund the company’s expansion plans that include increasing its polyester spinning capacity from the existing 12,000 tonne per annum to 56,000 tonne per annum. They are also setting up another 10 lines of polyester spinning plant with an annual installed capacity of 44,000 tonnes.

The company is also planning to develop an industrial park for medium & small industries near Kandla port in Kutch. The company owns 55 acres of land in this area and will be adding another 200 acres on which they will set up the infrastructure like roads, water and power supply.

Article in The Economic Times.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Peter Mukerjea's private equity-funded broadcast venture INX Media officially launched

Two new media companies INX Media Private Limited and INX News Private Limited, promoted by ex-Star CEO Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani, have been officially launched. The full bouquet of channels will include a Hindi entertainment channel, an English news channel, various entertainment channels in regional languages, a music channel and city-specific channels. INX Group promoter Indrani Mukerjea will be chairperson of the venture.

The Hindi general entertainment channel, the music channel and the English news channel will be launched by the last quarter of the year while the other channels will be rolled out over the next two years. Funding for the entertainment company INX Media has come in from Temasek Holdings via Dunearn Investments, New Silk Route, New Vernon, Kotak and SREI Group. The news company, INX News, will be 26% owned by the entertainment company and, in accordance with government regulations, by a single Indian entity drawn from the INX Group. Heading INX News as CEO and editorial head is Vir Sanghvi.

No single fund will own more than 25% of the entertainment channel. A portion of the equity will be kept aside as sweat equity for key employees both in the entertainment and the news companies. The two companies have already applied for necessary permissions.

Kotak Investment Bank is the exclusive adviser to the INX Group on this transaction. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co. are the legal advisers to the group. The investors in INX Media which will have the entertainment and the music channels include Dunearn Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, NSR PE, a fund advised by New Silk Route Partners, New Vernon Private Equity, SREI, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and Kotak Private Equity and IM Media Private Limited.

Read more in the article on indiantelevision.com.

RBI refuses Catholic Syrian Bank to let PE firm AIF Capital Development up stake above 5%

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has refused clearance to allow the preferential allotment of about 15% stake in Thrissur-based Catholic Syrian Bank to Asian private equity firm, AIF Capital Development. This has made a dent in (CSB) capital raising plans. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared the proposal but the RBI guidelines restrict any single private equity firm’s holding in a private sector bank to 5%.

Strangely, AIF Capital has 5.56% stake in Yes Bank, a new generation private sector bank. In addition to Yes Bank, AIF Capital’s portfolio in India includes Bharti Tele-Ventures and GVK Industries.

CSB had a capital adequacy of 11.24% at the end of March 31, 2006 and has been struggling to raise capital. It is imperative for CSB to raise capital to adhere to the RBI’s norms on minimum capital requirements for private sector banks, which require all private sector banks to increase their net worth to a minimum of Rs. 300 crores. CSB’s net worth in at the end of 2005-06 was around Rs. 215 crores.

Read more in the Business Standard article.
Related Post:
Catholic Syrian to sell 15% stake to AIF Capital Development; seeks RBI nod for sale

BNP Paribas buys 34.4% stake in broking firm Geojit Financial Services

BNP Paribas, the French banking giant has bought 34.35% in Geojit Financial Services for about Rs. 207 crores ($47 mn). The deal at Rs 26 per share is a combination of equity shares and warrants that could be converted into shares. The bank will also make an open offer to the shareholders of Geojit for another 20% in the company.

With its entry into the retail broking space, BNP has completed another leg of its financial services business in India. BNP already has presence in the life insurance sector through SBI Life Insurance and in the asset management business through Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Riding on Geojit's experience in Indian stock market, BNP is now considering entry into institutional broking business.

In October, Geojit's board had approved issuance of up to 79.6 mn shares (of Re. 1 face value) to BNP Paribas. The financial services firm has now issued 56.8 mn shares to BNP Paribas at Rs. 26 per share. It has also issued 22.8 mn warrants to the bank, which would be converted to as many shares at the same price in 18 months.

The post-deal open offer, expected in a few days, could increase BNP Paribas's stake in Geojit to over 50%. The company's name will be changed to 'Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services' and three members nominated by the French bank will join Geojit's board. The current management will continue to be in charge of the company.

Read The Times of India article.

Consulting firm Tholons partners US-based Baird Private Equity

Business Standard reports that investment, advisory and consulting firm Tholons has partnered Baird Private Equity, a global private equity group of investment firm, Robert W Baird & Company. The partnership allows Tholons to expand its footprints in the globalization of services consulting space by helping Baird Private Equity's portfolio companies leverage the benefits of global outsourcing. The partnership will enable Baird to establish its presence in the fast-growing offshore markets. Tholons will have dedicated resources for Baird to be located at its Bangalore centre. They will work exclusively with Baird Private Equity's portfolio companies, particularly those in the business services sector, to evaluate, develop and execute appropriate strategies in India. Several of Baird’s portfolio companies including HireRight, TrueAdvantage and Cerillion have a presence in India and stand to benefit from Baird’s presence there.

Rain, Oxbow bids C$13.50 for GLC Carbon; draws Rain Commodities into bidding war

US-based Oxbow Carbon & Minerals Holdings, Inc. has bettered Rain Commodities’ offer of C$ 13.25 for the assets of Great Lakes Carbon Income Fund consisting of 73.56% ownership interest in GLC Carbon USA, Inc., the world’s biggest calcinated petroleum coke (CPC) maker.

Rain had acquired 20% ownership in the GLC Income Fund in March 2006 at an enterprise value for GLC Carbon at $656 mn. The company was looking at buying out the remaining equity and had entered into an agreement with the GLC Income Fund at a price of C$11.60 per unit. Oxbow entered the bidding on March 7 with an offer of C$13 per unit, forcing Rain to increase the bid to C$13.25. However, Oxbow seems to have bettered Rain’s revised bid with an offer of C$13.50 on Monday.

Oxbow is the world’s largest marketer of petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining, used in the production of electrodes for the steel and aluminum industries. Acquiring GLC Carbon will clearly give Oxbow a strangle-hold over the global market. Likewise for Rain, the acquisition means adding to its own substantial CPC capacity through wholly owned subsidiary Rain Calcining which will give it 28% market share in the West and a footprint across the Middle East, US and Argentina.

GLC Carbon has three plants in the US and one in Argentina. Rain has five days to make a revised offer. Oxbow also holds 5% equity in Rain Calcining which is set to be merged with the parent later this month. Rain stands to gain a break-up fee of C$17 mn in case GLC accepts another offer.

Read the article in DNA Money.
Related Post:
Rain Commodities enters bidding war for GLC Carbon; raises bid price

Reliance Industries likely to buy stake in Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren

Metal pipes manufacturer Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Limited, the flagship company of the $1 bn-Welspun Group, may reportedly dilute its stake to Reliance Industries.

Reliance Industries wanted to have control in one of the steel pipe-making companies due to its larger interest in oil and gas where pipe companies have a larger role to play. The company recently has made two new natural gas discoveries in its east coast blocks in the Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi basins. Moreover, the current global boom in oil and gas and spurt of investments in oil companies has sent pipeline demand skyrocketing across the world.

In December, ABN-AMRO picked up 0.67% stake by acquiring 900,000 equity shares of Welspun at a price of Rs. 93 each.

Meanwhile, Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren has earmarked an investment of Rs. 1300 crores funded through a mix of equity, overseas and domestic debt to set up a captive steel plant and plate mill. Its manufacturing facilities are located near Dahej in Gujarat.

In the global markets, Welspun Gujarat supplied pipes to oil and gas majors such as British Gas, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Saudi Aramco and in domestic front, it supplies to Gas Authority of India, Indian Oil, ONGC and Bharat Petroleum.

Read more in the DNA Money article.

GIC and IDFC Private Equity buy 31% stake in Quipo Infrastructure for Rs. 150 crores to fund growth plans

GIC Special Investments, Singapore and IDFC Private Equity have picked up around 15.5% share each, totaling 31%, in Quipo Infrastructure Equipment Limited (QIEL) for Rs. 150 crores.

Quipo has been promoted by the SREI Group, one of the largest equipment retail companies in the country. It will use the funds to part-finance a capital expenditure plan of over Rs. 3400 crores over the next two years. Following this, the paid-up equity capital of the company is estimated to be around Rs. 90 crores with a total net worth around Rs. 225 crores. SREI’s shareholding in Quipo has come down to 15.5% from 22%. Dutch FMO and SwedFund hold around 22%, while other shareholders like Ingersoll Rand and other venture capital funds hold the balance.

Apart from internal cash generation, the company plans to go in for various debt options to fund its capex plans. Around Rs. 1200 crores of debt will be raised next fiscal. A large part of the capital expenditure of almost Rs. 2000 crores will go towards building almost 6000 telecom towers across the country. Quipo, through its subsidiary has been involved in the renting of towers to leading telecom operators.

The company is expected to gross a turnover of around Rs. 200 crores in the current fiscal and the new business is likely to double revenues from next year.

Read the article in DNA Money.

Fidelity buys 5% in pharma packaging company Ess Dee Aluminium

Mutual fund house Fidelity International has picked up 5% equity in Ess Dee Aluminium, India’s largest provider of pharma packaging solutions, in an open market transaction. The fund has invested close to Rs. 40 crores in the company’s stock that pegs its enterprise value at around Rs. 800 crores. Ess Dee also has been approached by other private equity funds, including Blackstone, for investment opportunities.

The ICICI Group and famous Asian financial commentator Marc Faber already hold around 3.5% and 4% equity, respectively, in Ess Dee. Other investors include Nimesh Kampani of the JM Financial Group and Jagdish Master of Enam.

For more, read The Economic Times article.

3i in talks to invest $100 mn in Mantri Developers

UK-based private equity major 3i is in talks with Mantri Developers for investing up to $100 mn. Mantri and 3i have had several rounds of talks and the investment could be routed into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for a specific project. Mantri Developers has already attracted private equity funding in an earlier round from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund for 10% stake for $68 mn, valuing the company at $650-680 mn in early 2006.

Some of the biggest PE transactions in the realty space include TPG-Axon investing $100 mn in DivyaSree Developers, Citigroup Property Investors tying up with Nitesh Estates to invest $100 mn to build the 250-room Ritz Carlton in Bangalore, UK-based Trinity Capital infusing £9.1 mn in Hyderabad-based Manjeera Construction, New York-based Och-Ziff Capital which picked up a 25% stake in Nitesh Estates for $ 51 mn and US-based Samsara Capital investing $32 mn in IDEB Projects.

So far, 3i has made seven direct investments in India, the latest being in Indiareit, the real estate fund of the Piramal Group. In the last 18 months 3i has invested over $200 mn in India, and plans to invest a further $1 bn in Asia over the next three years.

Read more in the article in The Economic Times.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Havell's acquire German lighting firm Sylvania for $300 mn

Havell's India has acquired Germany’s SLI Sylvania's lighting business for $300 mn (about Rs. 1350 crores) in an all-cash deal, from a group of private equity firms. This is the biggest overseas takeover by an Indian electrical equipment manufacturer in the lighting business.

The acquisition was made through Havell’s Dutch subsidiary, Havell's Netherlands BV and would be funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals. The combined revenues are expected to be $1 bn. Deutsche Bank was the advisor to Havell’s on the transaction and Barclays Capital would provide the financing to the deal.

SLI Sylvania operates in key geographies of Europe, Latin America and Africa through 10 manufacturing facilities. The company would get access to all of Sylvania's markets across the world except Mexico, US, Australia and New Zealand where the business is owned by German lighting firm Osram, one of the largest lamp manufacturers in the world. Sylvania Osram had sold its lighting business to a consortium of three private equity funds comprising Subros, JP Morgan and DDG Capital and Havell's has acquired the business from this consortium.

Read more on this in Moneycontrol.com.
Related Post:
Havell’s may buy UK lighting company for Rs. 1000 crores

Rahul Bajaj buys into privately-held Bajaj holding company Bachhraj

Rahul Bajaj has acquired stake in Bachhraj and Company by buying out minority shareholders SK Birla, CK Birla and Yash Birla. Bachhraj is a privately-held holding company and is a step-down subsidiary of the main holding firm of the Bajaj Group, Bajaj Sevashram. Bachhraj holds a 24.54% stake in Bajaj Hindustan, the sugar company controlled by Shishir Bajaj. Bachhraj also has equity holdings in Bajaj Auto and Mukand. At Monday’s closing market price of the three listed companies, the direct equity held by Bachhraj in these companies would value its holding at a staggering Rs. 1093 crores. The shares have been purchased from the Birlas over the last one year by the Rahul Bajaj group.

This is significant in the wake of the recent spat that has arisen between Rahul Bajaj and Kushagra Bajaj, son of Rahul Bajaj’s younger brother Shishir Bajaj. Kushagra Bajaj has accused his uncle Rahul of trying to wrest control of the Bajaj group of companies belonging to the Shishir Bajaj faction. At the heart of the feud lies the various crossholdings of the extended Bajaj family in the numerous Bajaj group of companies.

Read the articles in The Economic Times 1 and 2.

PE firms may not support Ranbaxy’s bid for Merck’s generics business

In a major setback to Ranbaxy Laboratories’ bid attempt for Merck’s generics business unit, private equity firms have stated that they do not want fund Ranbaxy's offer as the Indian drug maker does not want to give them an equity stake. Ranbaxy may offer equity only in a special purpose vehicle rather than in itself if it wins the bid. First round non-binding offers for the business, which is expected to fetch at least €4 bn ($5.2 bn), are due by Monday. Iceland's Actavis and Ranbaxy have both said they want to acquire the business.

Meanwhile, the other Indian pharma companies in the race for the Merck bid, Dr. Reddy’s and Cipla, have opted out. Several global majors like Novartis, Teva, Actavis and private equity group Carlyle are said to be interested in the bidding.

Article in Reuters.com and DNA Money.
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Ranbaxy Laboratories to bid for Merck's generic drug business
Ranbaxy Labs to set up SPV for Merck Generics bid

Rain Commodities enters bidding war for GLC Carbon; raises bid price

Rain Commodities has entered into a bidding war for the acquisition of GLC Carbon USA and has raised its bidding price from the earlier C$11.60 per share to C$13.25. The acquisition is being effected through Rain Commodities’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Rain Commodities USA Inc.

This raises the effective price for the acquisition of 73.56% in GLC from Rs. 1624 crores to Rs. 1873 crores. The hike in price is in view of the competitive bid for GLC made by Oxbow Carbon and Minerals Holdings, Inc, which offered a price of C$ 13.00 per share.

Under the amended agreement, the termination fee has also been increased from C$ 14.5 mn to C$ 17 mn. The termination fee will be payable to Rain Commodities by the GLC Income Fund, the holding company of GLC Carbon, in case a third party shows interest in buying GLC Carbon and the deal turns in favour of the third party.

The acquisition of GLC Carbon will make Rain Commodities the world's largest producer of Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) with a total capacity of 2.43 mn tonnes per annum. The acquisition would be funded by a mix of debt, internal accruals and funds raised through QIP. Rain Commodities is also planning to merge group company, Rain Calcining, which is into CPC production, with itself to achieve business synergies.

Read the article in The Economic Times.
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Rain Commodities to buy Canadian carbon company for Rs. 1624 crores
Rain Calcining to merge with Rain Commodities