Nutek gets 25 cr funding from a US fund

Gurgaon-based telecommunication solutions company, Nutek India Ltd, said that it was close to sealing a Rs 25-30-crore infusion from a leading US-based fund by end-this month. "We are in the final stages of closing this deal," Nutek India Managing Director Inder Sharma told reporters here.

The US-based fund will be picking up an around 10 per cent stake in Nutek, Sharma said, however without disclosing the identity of the US-based fund. The sale price is expected to be in the range of Rs 170 per share. Earlier, Atherstone Capital had invested Rs 10 crore in the company for an around 8 per cent stake. Atherstone Capital had been sold the company's shares at Rs 87 per share, Sharma said. This transaction took place nearly two years ago.

Post the fund-infusion expected to be completed by end-this month, the promoters' holding in the company would come down below 80 per cent from the present around 90 per cent, Sharma said.

Nutek's core expertise lies in the breadth of services it provides to its customers in the telecom infrastructure market. It provides turnkey infrastructure creation and installation for telecom sites which includes passive infrastructure like towers, telecom shelters, power plants, back-up power, DG sets, electrical infrastructure and earthing stations, among other services.

Source: Economic Times

Boutique i-bank Atherstone to raise infrastructure, real estate funds

Atherstone India Invest (AII) is raising two India-dedicated funds. These would include an infrastructure fund of $1 bn and an exclusive real estate fund of €250 mn. The funds will be partnered by European pension funds and insurance companies that are increasingly hungry for India's infrastructure and real estate sectors. AII is an asset management and business advisory firm dedicated to European and Indian cross investment businesses.

AII is a joint venture between the Mumbai-based Atherstone Group and India Invest, a firm based in Switzerland. AII is promoting commercial ties between India and Europe through India-focused funds, business consulting and merger and acquisition advisory. Atherstone Group is a two-year old global investment banking firm with an India focus. The real estate fund will be raised by March-end, followed by the infrastructure fund. The real estate fund is an open-ended fund; it will keep raising funds and deploying them in various projects.

The infrastructure fund will target a judicious mix of infrastructure service companies, technology-based vendors and project development companies. Target firms would be mid-market Indian firms having turnover up to $30 mn. Infrastructure service companies could include those engaged in toll road management, billings and collections in the power sector, demand-side energy management, logistics, and water conservation. However, AII is likely to avoid project development companies, except in sectors that offer higher returns, and where limited funds leveraged with project finance can have an impact. Similarly, technology-based vendors could include specialized vendors in railway signaling, automated tolling, electronic power meters, solar applications, energy efficiency, and pollution control.

The real estate fund will focus on townships, special economic zones (SEZs), large commercial projects and also Tier-II cities like Hyderabad and Pune. UK-based asset management group Belgravia Financial Services will help AII in risk management and asset management process.

Article in The Economic Times.