IL&FS and Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC) have joined hands to float a $1 bn private equity fund to invest in infrastructure projects in West Asia and North Africa. Both the companies are expected to commit around $50 million to the joint venture. The fund would look for investment opportunities in the upstream energy sector, in addition to roads, power and water supply management projects. ADIC would also consider investing in the Indian downstream sectors such as power.
Read more in the Business Standard article.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Local microfinance fund Bellwether gets $2.4 mn from Dutch firm
Bellwether Microfinance Fund has received an investment of $2.4 mn from Dutch financial company Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO). FMO has an 18.6% holding of the total paid-up equity in the BW with this investment. FMO is the third foreign institutional investor to invest in Bellwether.
Hyderabad-based Bellwether is India’s first microfinance venture capital fund. It was invested in 2005 and has invested till date Rs. 19 crores. So far, it has made 10 investments aggregating Rs. 27.5 crores in a wide variety of MFIs. Over 80% of its funds committed till now have been in the traditional microfinance markets of the four southern states. It is managed by its fund management company, Caspian Advisors Private Limited. Caspian is composed of a team of microfinance experts.
As of now, the Hivos-Triodos Fund of the Netherlands and the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund of USA are the major investors in Bellwether. The two investors have also subscribed to additional shares amounting to $1.2 mn each.
Read the article in Business Standard.
Hyderabad-based Bellwether is India’s first microfinance venture capital fund. It was invested in 2005 and has invested till date Rs. 19 crores. So far, it has made 10 investments aggregating Rs. 27.5 crores in a wide variety of MFIs. Over 80% of its funds committed till now have been in the traditional microfinance markets of the four southern states. It is managed by its fund management company, Caspian Advisors Private Limited. Caspian is composed of a team of microfinance experts.
As of now, the Hivos-Triodos Fund of the Netherlands and the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund of USA are the major investors in Bellwether. The two investors have also subscribed to additional shares amounting to $1.2 mn each.
Read the article in Business Standard.
The Times Group buys stake in Hyderabad-based IT company
Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL), the parent company of The Times of India and The Economic Times, has acquired a stake in Hyderabad-based IT products company SatNav Technologies. SatNav is a pioneer in products in navigation, telematics and business infrastructure management. It was founded under the Satyam entrepreneur incubation program focusing on services and products. In 2004, SatNav took over the products developed by Satyam Navigation and is today an independent venture run by ex-Satyam employees. The company is expanding its customer base across the globe; it already has partners in eight countries, The company’s client list includes ICICI Bank, Genpact, Satyam, ISB, UBS and HSBC.
Read the article in The Economic Times.
Read the article in The Economic Times.
RPO company gets Rs. 150 crores from angel investors
Elixir Web Solutions, a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) company, has received angel funding of Rs. 150 crores. It will invest over the next two years to set up a knowledge centre in Dehra Dun and for the acquisition of a mid-sized company in the US. The Rs. 20-crore company is growing at 250% year-on-year basis and is expecting to capture 10% of the Rs. 6000 crore-RPO market this year.
The company has invested Rs. 4 crores in Pune for setting up of our deliver centre. Over the next two years, the company will invest Rs. 60 crores in the Dehra Dun Software Technology Park of India (STPI) for setting up of a 2000-seater knowledge centre and the back office operations. It is also planning a delivery centre in Goa STPI.
The company is currently present in the US, UK, Canada and Australia through channel partners. It is now looking at establishing a greater global presence in the US through an acquisition of a mid-sized web solutions company with revenues of Rs. 30 crores and would announce the acquisition by August. By 2008, the company plans to set up its own delivery centre in Eastern Europe in Romania. The expansion includes ramping up of its headcount of 450 people to 600 people by the end of the fiscal. As for Pune, it will grow from 60 people to 120 people. Elixir caters to 14 verticals, which include IT/ ITeS, life sciences, media, research and analytic, aviation, FMCG, and logistics.
Read the article in Business Standard.
The company has invested Rs. 4 crores in Pune for setting up of our deliver centre. Over the next two years, the company will invest Rs. 60 crores in the Dehra Dun Software Technology Park of India (STPI) for setting up of a 2000-seater knowledge centre and the back office operations. It is also planning a delivery centre in Goa STPI.
The company is currently present in the US, UK, Canada and Australia through channel partners. It is now looking at establishing a greater global presence in the US through an acquisition of a mid-sized web solutions company with revenues of Rs. 30 crores and would announce the acquisition by August. By 2008, the company plans to set up its own delivery centre in Eastern Europe in Romania. The expansion includes ramping up of its headcount of 450 people to 600 people by the end of the fiscal. As for Pune, it will grow from 60 people to 120 people. Elixir caters to 14 verticals, which include IT/ ITeS, life sciences, media, research and analytic, aviation, FMCG, and logistics.
Read the article in Business Standard.
Alembic buys non-oncology division of Dabur Pharma
Alembic has acquired the domestic non-oncology formulation business of Dabur Pharma for a consideration of Rs. 159 crores. The acquisition will be funded through a combination of internal accruals and debt. The company may also exercise the option of diluting a small portion of its equity. The consideration of Rs. 159 crores is for the acquisition plus the actual net working capital.
Read the Indiainfoline.com article.
Read the Indiainfoline.com article.
M&M to start new round of talks to buy Tractorul
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M) will begin a fresh round of negotiations with the government of Romania to acquire state-owned tractor-maker Tractorul Brasov SA after talks broke down between the two parties some days ago (See Related Post).
The bid had collapsed after the Romanian government rejected its debt guarantees. The Romania government has approached M&M again with a fresh proposal regarding the debt issue. A team of M&M officials is likely to fly down to Romania in the next few weeks. M&M has urged the Romanian government to write off Tractorul’s past liability of €180 mn.
Read the article in DNA Money.
The bid had collapsed after the Romanian government rejected its debt guarantees. The Romania government has approached M&M again with a fresh proposal regarding the debt issue. A team of M&M officials is likely to fly down to Romania in the next few weeks. M&M has urged the Romanian government to write off Tractorul’s past liability of €180 mn.
Read the article in DNA Money.
Actis hikes open offer for Phoenix Lamps to Rs. 190
Business Standard reports that PE fund Actis has decided to increase the open offer price for Phoenix Lamps by 25% to Rs. 190 a share, following a directive by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The revised open will open on February 5 and close on February 24.
The mandatory 20% open offer was triggered after Actis bought the entire 37% stake in Phoenix Lamps from its promoters, the Gupta family, last year. The open offer was priced at Rs. 152 a share and was supposed to open on August 31 and close on September 19. Yes Bank was the adviser to Actis for the offer. Actis had agreed to pay Rs. 190 a share to the Guptas, 25% higher than the price of the open offer on account of non-compete fees. However, market regulator SEBI did not agree to this argument. Actis will now make the open offer at Rs. 190 to buy the shares of the remaining shareholders.
Related Post:
SEBI asks Actis to pay Phoenix Lamps’ minority shareholders same price as paid to promoters
The mandatory 20% open offer was triggered after Actis bought the entire 37% stake in Phoenix Lamps from its promoters, the Gupta family, last year. The open offer was priced at Rs. 152 a share and was supposed to open on August 31 and close on September 19. Yes Bank was the adviser to Actis for the offer. Actis had agreed to pay Rs. 190 a share to the Guptas, 25% higher than the price of the open offer on account of non-compete fees. However, market regulator SEBI did not agree to this argument. Actis will now make the open offer at Rs. 190 to buy the shares of the remaining shareholders.
Related Post:
SEBI asks Actis to pay Phoenix Lamps’ minority shareholders same price as paid to promoters
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