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.

3i, Cisco, Oman Investment Fund invest $152 mn in Nimbus for 28% stake

Nimbus Communications, a media company with interests in general entertainment and sports, received private equity funding of $152 mn (Rs. 552 crores) for a 28.5% stake in the company. Private equity firm 3i, technology MNC Cisco and Oman Investment Fund (OIF) were the investors. Deutsche Bank and Americorp Ventures already hold stakes in Nimbus. The deal is being billed as the largest-ever private equity investments in the Indian media and entertainment sector. The advisors in this private equity transaction were Euromax Capital and Enam Consultants.

The private equity investment in Nimbus would be through compulsory convertible debentures with a likely conversion scheduled prior to the company's listing. This would be the final round of private equity investment before the company gets listed, which could be done within three years. The shareholding of the promoters would come down to between 40% and 44%, currently standing at 54%.

Nimbus has earlier said that it is interested in expanding its sports facilities and also the technology platform for future launches. Film distribution is another growth area. The money will be utilized to expand the company's international sports business and diversify into football and golf. A part of the funds will also be utilized to finance Indian language films, international film production and distribution, developing digital content for wireless and IPTV platforms and to expand the company's broadcasting operations.

3i is one of the largest UK-based private equity funds, managing close to $10 bn globally. This is the second round of investment for 3i in Nimbus. In 2005, the fund had invested $45 mn for a 33% stake in the company. In the current tranche, it has put in $30 mn for 6.5%. Early this month, 3i invested $22 mn in Indian digital cinema chain UFO Moviez (See Related Post). OIF, promoted by Sultan of Oman, has invested $75 mn for an 18% stake while Cisco got 4% for $20 mn. Cisco's investment is based on its strengths in IP television, a platform that Nimbus plans to foray into, while OIF will help Nimbus boost its presence in the Middle East. Nimbus' current revenues stand at $310 mn, up from $70 mn when 3i first picked a stake in it. Over the last five years, the company has received close to $200 mn (Rs. 900 crores) in foreign investments.

Read the articles in The Economic Times – 1 2.

International Tractors to divest 5% equity

International Tractors (ITL), makers of the Sonalika brand of tractors, is in for a fourth tranche of private placement by selling a 5% stake in the company to an undisclosed financial investor. This follows ITL privately placing 5% equity with JM Financial for around Rs. 125-150 crores. In March 2006, it placed 10% stake each in two group companies – ITL and utility-vehicle maker International Cars & Motors (ICML) – with UK-based private equity firm 3i for an estimated Rs. 300 crores. The 10% ITL stake netted around Rs. 200 crores for Sonalika, the balance coming from the 10% ICML stake. Before 3i, Citigroup and Yanmar had also bought stake in the group. The company had sold 10% stake in ITL and 20% in ICML to Citigroup in 2005.

Read the article in The Economic Times.

3i invests $22 mn in digital theatre chain UFO Moviez

Private equity firm 3i has invested $22 mn in UFO Moviez, a digital cinema chain. It has an option of investing another $3 mn later.

UFO Moviez plans to utilize the money to part finance its expansion plans. It intends to invest in hardware to expand its presence in India and overseas in markets like the Middle East, South-East Asia and Africa by January ’07. UFO plans to scale up its Indian operations from 600 to 2000 screens and plans to reach 3000 digital cinema houses worldwide by 2008.

This is the second investment by 3i in the media space, the earlier being in Nimbus Communications, which holds the BCCI global media rights till 2010. Apollo group’s Onkar Singh Kanwar owns 60% in UFO, while about 15% is held by the Singapore-based DG2L Technologies. The remaining stake is held by its CEO Sanjay Gaikwad.

Read the article in The Economic Times.