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.

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.

The Adani Group plans Rs. 1500 crore-IPO for Mundra Port and SEZ

Adani group company Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited will raise money from the capital markets. It has filed a draft red-herring prospectus with SEBI. The issue size of the company would be around Rs. 1500 crores. The IPO is expected to hit the capital market between last week of May and first week of June. The Adani Group has appointed DSP Merrill Lynch, JM Morgan Stanley, SSKI, Enam Financial and SBI Capital Markets as their lead managers to the issue. Mundra Port and SEZ is the first company from the SEZ and the port sector to hit the capital markets. The proceeds of the issue would be utilized for the further development of the Mundra port and SEZ.

Read The Economic Times article.