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Jacob Ballas plans $500 mn India PE fund

Jacob Ballas Capital India, a non-banking finance company focused on private equity advisory services, is planning a $500 million India-focused private equity fund. The NBFC, founded in 1995, currently serves as advisor to three India-focused PE funds in which New York Life is an active participant. Jacob Ballas was founded by Rajan Jetley, who was earlier the CEO of Air India and currently manages $445 million across three funds. When contacted, Srinivas Chidambaram, Managing Director of Jacob Ballas Capital India, said he cannot confirm, deny or comment on this as they are in process of raising the fund. The funds have been focusing on infrastructure, IT/BPO, textiles, pharmaceuticals and the financial services sector in India. The move by Jacob Ballas to raise a $500 million fund is backed by a strong pipeline of deals available in the Indian market given the losing lustre of the public markets. […]

July 2nd, 2008

Sobha sells 40 pct in Bangalore project for $10 mln

Real estate firm Sobha Developers Ltd said on Wednesday it has sold 40 percent stake in an upcoming Bangalore project to Dubai's Pan Atlantic LLC for $10 million (433 million rupees). Sobha plans to develop a 1.7-million-sq ft residential township at the plot in south Bangalore. A senior company official said the present value of the land is estimated at 1.05 billion rupees, which has been used as the basis for the deal valuation. The company expects sales realisation of 6 billion rupees from the project, he said. Recent months have seen a spate of private equity deals in the Indian real estate sector, as developers, faced with a cash crunch on one hand and a slowdown in demand due to high interest rates on the other, try to unlock value in ongoing projects. […]

July 2nd, 2008

Umicore to acquire Indian zinc oxide producer

Umicore has reached an agreement to acquire Anandeya Zinc Oxides Private Limited, located in Goa, India. The company will be fully integrated into Umicore's Zinc Chemicals business and will support the business unit's strategy of growing its position as one of the worldwide leaders in the manufacturing of high-purity, specialty zinc compounds. The acquisition and the intended additional investment amount to some USD 10 million. The intended investment involves expanding Anandeya's current zinc oxides product range to different zinc chemicals in order to provide broader support for the growth of Umicore's global customers in the expanding markets of India and the Middle East. The acquired site has spare land for the expansion of zinc chemicals production or for the incorporation of other industrial activities. The experience gained in the transaction will also benefit Umicore in its pursuit of future growth possibilities in India. The transaction is subject to certain standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed by early August. […]

July 2nd, 2008

NYSE Euronext acquires 5 % equity in MCX

NYSE Euronext (NYX) has announced that it has completed through its affiliate Euronext NV, the acquisition of 5 percent equity in the multi commodity exchange (MCX), India's largest commodity exchange group. The 5 percent equity investment is the maximum equity interest permitted by a single foreign investor in exchanges under current Indian law. “Asia pacific is a strong, growing region for global capital markets and we formalize our intent to be a part of that growth by investing in and working with MCX” said Lawrence Leibowitz, NYSE Euronext's group executive vice president. Speaking on the occasion MD and CEO, MCX, Joseph Massey said, “The strategic investment by NYSE in MCX takes our relationship to the next level and we see it as strategically important in the global context.” […]

July 2nd, 2008