The Hinduja Group has made it clear that it will seek management control in Telecom Italia if it bids for Italian tyre and real estate major Pirelli’s stake in Italy’s largest telecommunications operator. Though Pirelli holds the largest block of shares in Telecom Italia, acquisition of that stake alone will not give the Hindujas majority control. However, given the widely-held structure of Telecom Italia’s shareholding, it may give them management control. Pirelli owns 80% of Telecom Italia’s holding company Olimpia, which has an 18% stake in Telecom Italia. Telecom Italia is Europe’s fifth largest telecommunications group with sales of nearly $30 bn and market capitalization of $77 bn. Back-of-the-envelope calculations put the acquisition cost for Pirelli’s stake in Olimpia at $12 bn. The race for Telecom Italia is hotting up with Sistema, the Russian billionaire industrialist Vladimir Yevtushenkov being the third to join the fray. US private equity firm Blackstone also expressed an interest in picking up a stake in Telecom Italia two months ago, and several others are expected to join the bidding bandwagon soon.
Read The Economic Times article.
Related Post: The Hinduja Group interested in majority stake in Telecom Italia
Monday, January 22, 2007
Credit Suisse to raise a $1bn fund to tap Indian realty
Credit Suisse, the Zurich-headquartered financial powerhouse, is planning a dedicated $1 bn fund for investing in the booming real estate sector in India, to be announced in the next financial year. Already, US-based investment banking giants Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have invested heavily in the real estate market in India, with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund recently having struck the largest real estate investment deal worth Rs. 675 crores with Mumbai-based Oberoi Constructions. Goldman Sachs is also planning an investment of $1 bn. Credit Suisse’s $1-bn investment in real estate will be brought in a phased manner by 2010 and will focus on commercial space. High on its priority list are large-format retail malls, two-star and three-star business hotels, healthcare and multi-use office-cum-residential complexes. Sources said the fund will primarily pick equity in ongoing big-ticket projects or those looking for second round of funding to complete their partially operational projects. The fund is unlikely to park money in start-up projects. The fund is also keen on acquiring management stake in some projects post-completion.
Read more in The Economic Times.
Read more in The Economic Times.
Private funds invest Rs. 146 crores in Provogue
Private equity funds have invested Rs 146.25 crores in retailer Provogue. Fidelity, New Vernon, Blackstone, Genesis Capital, Artis Capital and Liberty International have picked up 3.25 mn preference shares at Rs. 450 per share. Provogue's promoters are also subscribing to 1.8 mn warrants at the same price.
The new allotments will push up the company's total capital to 21.24 mn shares. In this, foreign funds will now hold around 15.30%. Promoters and friends will hold 47.34% and 18.31% diluting their stakes from 51% and 24%, respectively. The foreign investment comes with a one-year lock-in. It comes on the back of JV partner, Liberty International, investing Rs. 202.5 crores for a 25% stake in its retail infrastructure subsidiary, Prozone-Liberty.
Read the article in The Times of India and The Economic Times.
The new allotments will push up the company's total capital to 21.24 mn shares. In this, foreign funds will now hold around 15.30%. Promoters and friends will hold 47.34% and 18.31% diluting their stakes from 51% and 24%, respectively. The foreign investment comes with a one-year lock-in. It comes on the back of JV partner, Liberty International, investing Rs. 202.5 crores for a 25% stake in its retail infrastructure subsidiary, Prozone-Liberty.
Read the article in The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Norwest Venture Partners to acquire IT companies in India
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), the California-based venture capital firm that recently invested $20 mn in Indian KPO firm Adventity, is scouting for buyout opportunities in the Indian IT space. Though NVP does not have a dedicated India fund, it intends to invest $300 mn in India over the next three years, and is targeting companies in the range of $25-30 mn operating in the services and product development space for acquisitions.
The fund currently has invested $50 mn in four IT companies in India and is planning to invest in other 10-15 companies over the next 2-3 years. Apart from Adventity, NVP had earlier invested $13.8 mn in Persistent Systems and another $10 mn in social networking site Sulekha.com. It also invested in online travel portal Yatra.com along with Reliance Capital and the TV18 Group.
NVP is working on a hybrid model, where companies across geographies can be merged together depending on the synergies. Even for its existing portfolio companies in India, the fund is open to merging it with any of its existing investee companies. Though internationally, NVP has made investments in a number of industries, in India, the fund will invest in semi-conductors, consumer internet and media companies.
Read The Economic Times for comments from Mr. Promod Haque, Managing Partner-Norwest Venture Partners.
The fund currently has invested $50 mn in four IT companies in India and is planning to invest in other 10-15 companies over the next 2-3 years. Apart from Adventity, NVP had earlier invested $13.8 mn in Persistent Systems and another $10 mn in social networking site Sulekha.com. It also invested in online travel portal Yatra.com along with Reliance Capital and the TV18 Group.
NVP is working on a hybrid model, where companies across geographies can be merged together depending on the synergies. Even for its existing portfolio companies in India, the fund is open to merging it with any of its existing investee companies. Though internationally, NVP has made investments in a number of industries, in India, the fund will invest in semi-conductors, consumer internet and media companies.
Read The Economic Times for comments from Mr. Promod Haque, Managing Partner-Norwest Venture Partners.
India Power Fund to be operationalized by March 2007
India Power Fund, a venture capital fund of Power Finance Corporation, catering to the need of India’s growing power needs will be operationalized by the end of the current financial year. The fund has been in the pipeline since February 2004 when it was announced by the NDA government to meet the shortfall in equity needs for the power sector.
The Indian power sector needs an investment of more than $100 bn to add 68,000 MW of additional generation capacity, besides transmission and distribution network by 2012. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is already participating as one of the partners contributing to the fund. The power ministry has sought an income-tax exemption of 20% of the total contribution for five years to the fund as it feels tax break will help mop up resources.
Read The Economic Times for more details.
The Indian power sector needs an investment of more than $100 bn to add 68,000 MW of additional generation capacity, besides transmission and distribution network by 2012. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is already participating as one of the partners contributing to the fund. The power ministry has sought an income-tax exemption of 20% of the total contribution for five years to the fund as it feels tax break will help mop up resources.
Read The Economic Times for more details.
Easier funding norms contemplated by RBI for India Inc.’s foreign acquisitions
Business Standard reports that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its plans to liberalizing regulatory norms for outbound investments, is considering allowing Indian companies to directly give loans to their step-down companies for overseas business expansions. A step-down company is a subsidiary of a holding company abroad which is set up by Indian entity. At present, an Indian corporate can extend loans only to a company in which it holds direct stake.
The RBI may ask banks to do the diligence in such matters of extending loans to such ‘step-downs’. The fund (debt) will have to be within the existing limit of 200% of the net worth of the Indian company. Funding the operating company through holding company has attendant complexities and direct assistance is expected to save cost and make transaction transparent.
These issues were discussed by RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath while addressing a conference on cross-border acquisitions organized by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce.
The RBI may ask banks to do the diligence in such matters of extending loans to such ‘step-downs’. The fund (debt) will have to be within the existing limit of 200% of the net worth of the Indian company. Funding the operating company through holding company has attendant complexities and direct assistance is expected to save cost and make transaction transparent.
These issues were discussed by RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath while addressing a conference on cross-border acquisitions organized by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce.
Foursoft buys Danish software company Transaxiom for $10 mn
Four Soft (4S), a software solutions provider for transportation and logistics vertical, acquired 100% of the Denmark-based Transaxiom Holding A/S, a global provider of transportation and logistics solutions for approximately $10 mn (around Rs. 45 crores). The transaction value will be in a cash-and-stock deal with the payouts happening over the next three years based on performance. The definitive agreement has been signed between the two companies. With this merger, Four Soft consolidates its leadership position within transportation and logistics industry. In addition, the merger will augment 4S’s current domain and technology competence and expand global presence in Scandinavia, Australia and Hong Kong markets (Source – Business Standard).
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