August 2007
M T W T F S S
« Jul   Sep »
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Contact us

Srei stake in Andhra company

Srei Infrastructure Finance acquired a 76 per cent stake in Hyderabad Information Technology Venture Enterprises Ltd, a venture capital outfit. The venture capital firm was set up in 2000 jointly by the Andhra Pradesh Development Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and the Small Industries Development Bank of India. The exact amount of the deal could not be known. The Hyderabad firm floated its first fund with an initial corpus of Rs 15 crore. It came out with a second fund of Rs 50 crore. After the shareholders’ approval, Srei will pick up a 51 per cent stake in the initial fund and another 25 per cent in the second. Hemant Kanoria, vice chairman and managing director of Srei, said the corpus of the fund would be hiked to promote investments in Andhra Pradesh. The firm invested Rs 12 crore in seven IT companies from the first fund.(The Telegraph) […]

Firstsource to acquire MedAssist Holding Inc

Business process outsourcing service provider Firstsource Solutions has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based healthcare company MedAssist Holding, Inc for $330 million. Firstsource Solutions has got into an agreement to buy MedAssist Holding, for $330 million, subject to regulatory approval under the US HSR (Hart – Scott – Rodino Anti Trust Improvements) Act. As per the terms of the agreement, there would be no change in the management of MedAssist and employees would continue in their current jobs, Firstsource said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. (The Hindu) […]

Ess Dee Aluminium in talks to buy India Foils

Pharma packaging material maker Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd is in talks to acquire Vedanta Resources Plc's foils business, India Foils Ltd, a company official said on Wednesday. “We are in talks,” Director Ajay Doshi said. “We have to evaluate our position.” Ess Dee was on the lookout for acquisitions in India and Europe, Chairman and Managing Director Sudip Dutta said last week, adding due diligence had begun on an Indian firm, but had declined to identify it. The company would use the Rs 81.08 crore that it raised by selling a 5 per cent stake to Morgan Stanley for the acquisition, he had said. Earlier, the Economic Times paper reported that Vedanta expected a valuation of Rs 250-300 crore for the the Kolkata-based India Foils. Vedanta officials were not immediately available for comment. (ET) […]

Elder Pharma buys 51 pct stake in Bulgaria's Biomeda for 5 mln eur

India's Elder Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it has bought a 51 pct stake in Bulgarian pharmaceutical distributor and manufacturer, Biomeda Group, in an all-cash deal worth 5 mln eur, to gain a foothold into the major regulated global markets with specific focus on Europe. Biomeda reported a turnover in the range of 10-12 mln eur last year and is a manufacturer of pharmaceutical oral dosage formulations. 'The acquisition will allow Elder to extend its product portfolio to other European markets,' said Alok Saxena, Elder Pharmaceuticals director. According to Saxena, Elder is attracted to the Bulgarian market for its skilled labour and lower production costs compared to other European countries. Last month, Elder made a 20 pct strategic investment in UK-based NeutraHealth PLC at 16 pence per share.( Hemscott) […]

L&T Capital took a stake in Mysore-based Rangsons Electronics

L&T Capital Company Limited, a group concern of engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), has invested around Rs.1 billion for a stake in Mysore-based Rangsons Electronics Pvt. Ltd., an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider. Rangsons Electronics, part of the N.R. Group, is one of the fastest growing EMS companies in India. With four state-of-the-art facilities in Bangalore and Mysore and an international procurement office in China, it caters to the high mix – high tech product spectrum of leading Indian and global firms. R.N. Mukhija, president (operations) and member of the L&T board, said, “Looking at the market situation and its growth opportunities we believe this investment will bear fruit for both partners. Rangsons is well positioned to create significant value for its stakeholders. We see a great opportunity for Rangsons to be a global end-to-end solutions provider in EMS.” […]

Helix buys 30% stake in Mahesh Tutorials

Mauritius-based fund Helix Investments has put in $12 million to buy nearly 30 per cent equity stake in MT Educare Pvt Ltd. This is perhaps the first foreign investment in a private tutorial institute. MT Educare is the holding company of Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials, which runs the country’s largest school and college tutorial chain and is gaining ground in multiple new training segments. With more than 100 centres, Mahesh Tutorials has a strong presence in Mumbai. The funds raised would be utilised to expand their operations across India and even in global centres, said officials. It has already established its first international center at Al Karama in Dubai. The company also plans to leverage technology in the delivery of education solutions across a wider audience as well as provide complementary online solutions. […]

Blackstone buys into Nagarjuna

Private equity fund Blackstone is picking up a stake in Nagarjuna Construction Company for Rs 615 crore ($150 million), its second big-ticket deal in less than 10 days. Last weekp, the US-based Blackstone had scooped up 50.1 per cent of garment company Gokaldas Exports. Under the deal, Nagarjuna will issue preferential shares and warrants to Blackstone. The company informed stock exchanges that its board today decided to issue 20,246,900 equity shares of Rs 2 each at a premium of Rs 200.50 and 9,111,111 warrants at Rs 225 per warrant to Blackstone. It said each warrant would be converted into an equity share at Rs 225 per share. Nagarjuna, however, did not reveal the extent of Blackstone shareholding. Three Mauritius-based Blackstone entities are picking up the stake in Nagarjuna. The company’s share today closed at Rs 197.55 on the BSE. The proceeds from the sale will be used to fund new infrastructure projects both by the company and its associates. […]

IFC to fund Gujarat Petronet capex

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has given a corporate loan of Rs 337.5 crore to Gujarat State Petronet for the extension of pipeline network to Mundra and Pipavav from Jamnagar. IFC has also made an equity investment of around $30 million (around Rs 123 crore) for the project. GSPL will issue 2,20,00,000 equity shares to IFC on a preferential basis, at a price of Rs 57.29 per equity share. The company has signed share subscription and shareholders agreement with IFC on August 23, subsequent to the board approval. IFC promotes sustainable private sector development in developing countries. Its focus is to promote economic development by encouraging the growth of productive enterprise and efficient capital markets in member countries. […]

BSE buys 5% in Calcutta Stock Exchange

Bombay Stock Exchange has purchased a five per cent stake in the Calcutta Stock Exchange, based in Kolkata, for Rs 60 crore as part of the corporatisation of the regional exchange. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) bought the stake at Rs 2,000 a share, the exchange said in a statement issued late on Tuesday. The CSE has been valued at Rs 1200 crore based on the BSE purchase value. Calcutta Stock Exchange is the second stock exchange, after BSE, to sell stake to investors as part of the corporatisation plan for stock exchanges. Earlier this year, BSE completed the corporatisation process by selling 51 per cent stake to various investors including Singapore Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse. (ET) […]

Venture capital funds take a fancy to niche retail start-ups

Niche retail start-ups are the flavour of the season for venture capital funds that invest in early stage companies. From Printo Document Services Pvt. Ltd, a retail chain that offers on-demand print services, to Mango Digital Vending Machines Network Pvt. Ltd (Mango DVM, for short), which aims to sell digital music from 400,000 kiosks across the country by 2010, retail companies focusing on specific needs of customers are being wooed by venture funds that see a huge opportunity in building niche businesses. For good reason. “Retail is not just a big boys’ game; small start-ups with a clearly defined product offering will do very well in the Indian retail market,” says Raman Mangalorkar, who heads the consumer and retail practice for Asia at consulting firm A.T. Kearney Ltd. For the third successive year, India has been ranked the top destination for retail investments by an index the firm uses to track retail activity in 30 emerging global markets. Investors picking up equity in these start-ups have their eyes on a sector on the cusp of explosive growth. By 2010, the Indian retail industry is expected to reach revenues of $427 billion (Rs17.5 trillion) up from today’s $350 billion and, according to AT Kearney estimates, could nearly double to $635 billion by 2015. With organized retail accounting for just 3% today, reckon investors, the expansion can only be rapid. […]