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.
Related Post:
Flemingo Duty Free Shops sells 15% stake to Citigroup Venture Capital International; awaits regulatory nod