J&K Bank seeks foreign partner for 49pc stake in broking unit

Jammu & Kashmir Bank is scouting for a foreign partner to pick up 49 per cent in its planned stock broking subsidiary, a top official said.

In August, the bank received the Reserve Bank of India's approval to set up a stock broking subsidiary. It also plans to come out with its $100 million issue of global depositary receipts by mid-December, he said.

The issue would comprise about 6 per cent of the bank's equity, he said. The bank, 53 per cent owned by the state government, over the weekend announced a 30 per cent rise in its quarterly net profit beating analyst forecasts. It posted July-Sept net profit of Rs 108 crore on total income of Rs 654 crore.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Amit Burman plans food courts

Amit Burman, founder of Dabur Foods, is planning to launch food courts in shopping malls, office complexes, at national highways as well as mini-restaurants at metro stations. It is estimated that India would have around 250 new malls by 2010.

Burman, along with two other partners, Rohit Aggarwal and Tejpavan Singh Gandhok, has invested close to Rs 200 crore in the venture.The partners hope to reach a sales target of Rs 1,000 crore, with retail outlets across 200 locations, in the next three years.

Burman, who currently operates nine franchisees of Subway, has tied up with Dubai-based Hot Brands to start quick service food joints serving Chinese, Italian, Thai and Indian cuisines. “We will also acquire local companies from small cities to address specific regional tastes,” shares Burman.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

3i India buys 8% in Adani Power

Global private equity and venture capital player 3i's Indian investment arm 3i India Infrastructure Fund GP has invested Rs 900 crore in Adani group's power venture Adani Power,in what is its first investment.

With the enterprise value of Adani Power being pegged at Rs 10,850 crore, 3i's equity stake in Adani Power works out to nearly 8%. The deal was inked between 3i group chairperson Baroness Hogg and Adani group chairman Gautam Adani. Adani Power, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Adani group flagship - Adani Enterprises, is currently developing an independent 2,640 MW imported coal-based thermal power plant at Mundra in Gujarat.

Read more in The Times of India article.

Goldman, Macquarie set to buy 40% in PTC arm for Rs 120 crore

PTC is selling a 40% stake in PTC Financial Services (PFS), the investment arm of power trading and advisory services company.The deal is expected to be in the region of Rs 120 crore.Two private equity players, Goldman Sachs and Macquaire would subscribe equal number (20% each) of shares in the company. PTC, formerly known as Power Trading Corporation, is diversifying beyond its traditional power trading business.

PFS Registered as a non-banking finance company (NBFC), one of the main activities of which would be to pick up equity in power projects and facilitate financial closure.

PFS is expected to dilute its holding further by 26% when the capital of the NBFC is raised further, reducing the holdings of PTC to below 50%.The proposal received a huge response from investors forcing it to appoint a consultant to finalise the equity partners for PFS.PTC was also engaged in talks with Blackstone, Soloman Brothers and a few other private equity players for roping them as strategic partner in PFS.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Genpact beats Firstsource to bag Citi BPO deal

After many a false alarm and multiple rounds of negotiations, the sale of Citigroup’s captive BPO operations has finally been concluded with Genpact winning the final bid in a closely-run race with Firstsource Solutions. The transaction is the first such sale of a large captive BPO and sets the precedent for other captive managements that were closely following the process. In terms of transaction value, it is the largest deal in the business process outsourcing segment.

The deal was reportedly done for $630 million with Genpact getting close to 90% in the 10,000-strong operation. The last round had seen some tense moments with the Firstsource turning out to be the dark horse and entering a bid higher than that of Genpact. Genpact was tipped to be the favourite all along, and Firstsource was not expected to be serious contender, more so because of its $330 million acquisition of US-based MedAssist barely a few months ago.

The Firstsource bid was around $100 million more than that of Genpact and although Citi was keen on doing the deal with Genpact, it was caught in a bind over the bids. ET had earlier reported that Citigroup had asked Genpact to match the bid put in by Firstsource. According to sources, the Genpact management considered the proposition but ultimately decided against it. The final deal was structured with Genpact agreeing to a higher bid but with a larger equity holding in the BPO, investment banking sources said.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

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Promethean takes 8% stake in Nitco

Promethean India, a part of the UK-based private equity group Promethean Plc, has acquired 8% stake in Mumbai-based Nitco Tiles. The acquisition has been made through P-notes, but the deal size was not disclosed.

Promethean India has applied for an FII licence, and hopes to get it soon with Sebi liberalising the norms for FII registration.Promethean India is managed by Mohit Burman and Sir Peter Bert, former chairman of ITV.

Promethean raised $150 millon from London's AIM in April this year.This is the maiden fund floated by the UK-based group and has invested in three companies so far - Mahindra Forgings and a mobile bill payment company Obopay.

Union Bank to raise 300 Crores

State-owned Union Bank of India plans to raise a minimum of Rs 300 crore through a domestic Tier I bond issue before the end of this financial year.The bank plans to issue the bonds domestically, mostly when interest rates are lower in November.

The bank needs the capital to keep up with Basel-II requirements. Union Bank’s capital adequacy ratio was at 11.55% as of September 2007. The additional capital will take the ratio closer to 12%, a bank official said

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Wockhardt buys Morton Grove for $38 mn

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology major Wockhardt has acquired US-based Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, a speciality pharmaceutical company, for $38 million as against an enterprise valuation of $58 million.

Morton Grove is a leading liquid generic and speciality dermatology company, having a sales revenue of $52 million.The company provides entry into the US generic market with a portfolio of 31 products, 13 of which occupy the No. 1 market position. All others are in the Top 3.

The company said the acquisition would boost its US revenue by providing a complete range of dosage forms right from tablets, capsules, liquids to injectibles. The acquisition would take the overall the product range to around 54 products for the US market, of which 23 products are currently being marketed by Wockhardt USA.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

RCOM to offload 10% in tower arm via IPO

Reliance Communications is likely to list its tower arm — Reliance Telecom Infrastructure Ltd (RTIL) — by March. The company which has already offloaded 5% stake in RTIL to outside investors, plans to sell an additional 10% in the company through an IPO.

The valuation of the company as per its 5% equity placement in July to seven institutional investors from the US, Europe and Asia was about Rs 27,000 crore. It is also learnt that the promoters (Reliance Communications) will sell shares and therefore there would not be a fresh issue of equity.

RCOM’s primary competitor Bharti Airtel, which is currently in the process of transferring its mobile telecom towers and related infrastructure to Bharti Infratel, has already prepared a road map which would allow the company to divest a majority stake in its tower arm in the future.

After the completion of the demerger, Infratel will enter into comprehensive sharing agreements with other service providers while Bharti in time would divest a majority stake and may also go for an IPO, thus making it a completely independent company, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said.

Goldman Sachs eyes 33% stake in Bhatia’s Nano City

US-based financial services major Goldman Sachs is learnt to be in talks with Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia to acquire about 33% stake in his ambitious Nano City project in Haryana. Sources said that the firm is looking at an investment of about $125-150 million.

The Nano City is being developed in Panipat, in a 90:10 joint venture (JV) between Mr Bhatia’s Nanoworks Developers and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). The corporation holds 10% sweat equity in the Nano City for providing 25% of the land required. The project will be developed over 11,000 acres.

Only Nanoworks Developers will dilute its equity for the investment by Goldman Sachs and HSIIDC will hold on to its 10%.The fund infusion by Goldman Sachs or any other investor will help the developers speed up the multi-year project. In all, the Nano City is estimated to be developed at an investment of Rs 1,850 crore. Of this, over Rs 800 crore will go towards buying the land.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Holcim hikes Ambuja stake to 40 per cent

Holcim, the world’s second largest cement maker, has scaled up its shareholding in Ambuja Cements (ACL) by 3.15 per cent to nearly 40 per cent for Rs 714 crore through open market operations.

In a series of block deals, the Swiss cement major purchased 4.8 crore shares, representing 3.15 per cent stake in the country’s third largest cement maker ACL, for an average cost of Rs 148.80 apiece.

Sellers in the block deal include Notz Stucki Cie, a portfolio management services provider and The Master Trust Bank of Japan. The two entities sold 99.7 lakh shares and 80 lakh shares respectively.

The move strengthens Holcim’s attempt to push up equity in ACL beyond the majority shareholding for which it has launched a 20 per cent open offer for the retail shareholders on October 18.

Priced at Rs 154 a share, the offer, if subscribed fully, will jack up the global company’s equity in ACL to 60 per cent.

The offer, which is expected to cost Holcim nearly Rs 5,460 crore, will close on November 6. At this price, the enterprise value of ACL is estimated at Rs 1200 per tonne, the highest in the industry.

Religare eyes up to $35 mn via IPO

Religare Enterprises has set a price band of Rs 160-185 per share for its initial public offer, the financial services firm said in a statement.

At upper end of the band, the firm, which is selling 7.57 million shares, would raise Rs 1.4 billion ($35 million).

Enam Financial Consultants and Citigroup are advising Religare, founded by the the owners of Ranbaxy Laboratories.Merrill Lynch has bought a 5 per cent stake in the firm.

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Gulf Finance raises $630m for Energy City

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House EC, an Islamic investment bank, has raised $630 million in private equity for its $2 billion Energy City India project.

Energy City India, part of the infrastructure projects that Gulf Finance House is building at multiple locations, will be spread across over 300 acres in Navi Mumbai, and is expected to house companies in the entire oil and gas value chain. The offer, which was oversubscribed by 60%, is touted as the most successful equity offer in the bank’s history.

The initial offer size was $395 million, which opened for subscription in May. In October last year, Gulf Finance signed the memorandum with the Maharashtra government to build Energy City India and hired Valuable Infrastructure to carry out a feasibility study and to assist in land acquisition. It plans to directly acquire the land for this project.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Warburg to invest $110 mn in Havells

Havells India, $1.2 billion enterprise and one of country’s fastest growing electrical and power distribution equipment companies, manufactures products ranging from building circuit protection, industrial & domestic switchgears, cables & wires, energy meters, fans, CFL lamps, luminaries for domestic, commercial & industrial application, and modular switches has attracted a $110 Million from Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm.

Havells will issue fresh shares and warrants to Warburg Pincus, representing approximately 11.2 per cent of the fully diluted share capital of the company.

SSKI (a subsidiary of IDFC) was the financial advisor and Amarchand Mangaldas provided legal advice to Warburg Pincus on this transaction.Havells owns prestigious global brands like Crabtree (Indian Region), Sylvania, Lumiance and Zenith, among others.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Deutsche likely to infuse $125 mn into Golden Gate

European financial powerhouse Deutsche Bank (DB) is set to invest $125 million in Bangalore-based Golden Gate Properties (GGPL) for a 15-20% stake.

It is believed that Deutsche Bank has emerged as the front-runner in a fund-raising process kicked off by the southern realty player about a year ago. Sources said the initial agreement has been inked even though the deal is not yet closed. Other players in the fray included Credit Suisse and ABN Amro. The transaction, according to sources, is likely to value GGPL at around Rs 2,700-3,000 crore.

Earlier, DB invested around Rs 1,700 crore for around 25% stake in special purpose vehicle (SPV) floated by Mumbai-based Lodha group. This SPV proposes to set up three FDI-compliant real estate projects over 70 acres in Thane and Dahisar. Notwithstanding the sub-prime crisis in the US, DB and its global peers like JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and ABN Amro are on the prowl for investments in India’s real estate sector.In fact, sectoral analysts say some of these funds are hedging their portfolio on emerging markets like India.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

RIL to hive off Reliance Fresh into independent firm

A large-size restructuring is in the offing at Reliance Retail, Reliance Industries’ consumer retail project. As part of the exercise the company has decided to hive off Reliance Fresh into a separate company, Ranger Farm, for single point accountability.

A source said Reliance Fresh that sells food, fruits and vegetables and consumer products is a high-volume business which requires integration and dedicated focus, especially when opposition to organised retail in this particular category has taken political colour.

The source also said the management may knock down more verticals and spin them off into separate companies as and when they attain scale. RIL’s other formats like the hypermarket, consumer durables chain and apparel store are in their infancy with only one or two stores each. There is speculation that the number of companies that will be spun off from Reliance Retail will eventually be in double digits.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

PEs picking up GIL stake for Rs 1,200 crore

A clutch of private equity players are picking up equity stake in telecom tower company — GTL Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) for Rs 1,200 crore. Industry sources said that three PE players were picking up stake in GIL, which included two infrastructure funds from India and one from abroad. GIL is India’s largest standalone tower and telecom infrastructure company.

When contacted, a company spokesperson said it was “too early to comment on the who the PE players are”, while adding that the GIL board would meet on October 19 to finalise the proposal of preferential issue of shares or warrants of up to Rs 1,200 crore. GIL is slated to make an announcement with regard to the stake sale in Mumbai on Friday.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Macquarie Bank buys 50% in Religare`s wealth management

Sydney-based Macquarie Bank has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises’ wealth management subsidiary.

The bank has bought the stake at par, but hasn’t disclosed the amount received. The wealth management company would be renamed as Religare Macquarie Wealth.The two companies have entered into a JV with the aim of providing advisory-based wealth management solutions to the fast growing high networth investors (HNIs) in India.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Himatsingka buys DWI Holdings for $30 mn

Himatsingka Seide today announced that the company has completed the acquisition of 100% stake in DWI Holdings Inc for $30 million.Himatsingka acquired the stake through its wholly owned subsidiary, Himatsingka America Inc.

Early this year in February it had acquired Giuseppe Bellora SpA and Divatex Home Fashions (in July).The acquisition of DWI is in line with the company's strategy to forward integrate high-end brands and large distirbution networks in the home textile space.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, DWI has the licenses for the sourcing, marketing and distribution of luxury home textile brands - Calvin Klein, Barbara Barry and Royal Sateen.

Cognizant to acquire marketRx for $135 mn

Cognizant Technology Solutions, the Nasdaq-listed $1 biliion provider of global IT and business process outsourcing services, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire New Jersey-based marketRx, Inc., a provider of analytics and related software services to global Life Sciences companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices segments.

Cognizant will pay approximately $135 million in cash, which will be funded from current cash reserves. Sequoia Capital has been a key investor in marketRx, which employs around 450 people.

According to a statement from Cognizant, this acquisition strengthens Cognizant's offerings across all areas of the Life Sciences value chain - from Research & Development and Manufacturing to Sales & Marketing Operations. marketRx combines analytics, market research and software services to provide web-based solutions in three functional areas for Life Sciences companies: Sales Management & Operations, Brand Marketing & Product Management and Market Research.

marketRx brings an client base to Cognizant representing a total of 75 Life Sciences customers, including all of the largest 20 pharmaceutical companies and 4 out of the top 5 biotech companies.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

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Rico Auto in JV with unit of Canada's Magna

India' Rico Auto Industries Ltd said on Friday it had signed a deal to form an equal joint venture in India with Magna Powertrain, a unit of Canada's Magna International Inc.

The venture will make oil and water pumps for automotive engine applications for Indian and European markets beginning early 2009, Rico Auto said in a statement.

Temptation set to buy Everfresh

Temptation Foods is close to acquiring the 'Everfresh' brand of frozen foods and vegetables from Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, industry sources said. The deal, which is likely to be inked this week, will make Temptation Foods the second largest player in frozen foods after Safal.

The deal is being clinched at a valuation of around 1.5 times the sales turnover of Safal. This could take the consideration to around Rs 40 crore.

The Everfresh acquisition will give the company access to the brand's cold chain distribution network within the country. Everfresh is manufactured at Sonepat, Haryana. The acquisition will also expand Temptation Foods' product portfolio to include sween corn, green peas and mixed vegetables. Currently, about 90% of the company's products are consumed in the exports market.

Read more in The Times of India article.

Indivision picks up 33% in Regen

Indivision, Future Capital’s private equity arm, has bought 33 per cent stake in Chennai-based wind turbine manufacturer, Regen Powertech, for $25 million.

Regen, the exclusive licencee for technology know-how from Germany’s Vensys, will set up a manufacturing facility to produce gearless turbines at Tada, Andhra Pradesh in a couple of months.

Regen was started by Madhusudan Khemka and R Sundaresh, who were earlier with the Khemka family-promoted wind turbine manufacturer NEPC Micon.

Indivision Fund was set up in September 2006 and committed nearly 35 per cent of it $ 425 million so far. It invests in high-growth entrepreneur backed companies.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Merrill arm buy 5% in Religare

Global financial services player Merrill Lynch has bought a five per cent stake in Religare Enterprises, a Delhi-based financial services-cum-brokerage outfit, for about Rs 60 crore through its subsidiary Indopark Holdings.

The deal values Religare Enterprises, which has filed a draft document for an initial public offering (IPO), at about Rs 1,212 crore. The IPO is likely to hit the market by this month-end.

Indopark Holdings will get 37,88,050 shares post-IPO and these shares will have a lock-in period of one year, as stipulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) rules.

Religare Enterprises, which is promoted by the Ranbaxy group founders, is planning to raise close to Rs 150-160 crore through the IPO.Religare Enterprises is the holding company for all its businesses, with its subsidiaries, Religare Securities, Religare Wealth Management Services, Religare Capital Markets and Religare Insurance Broking, among others.

Sidbi VC to invest up to $6 million in Stoverkraft

SIDBI Venture Capital is investing $5-$6 million (Rs 22 crore) into Bangalore-based small appliances maker Stovekraft to pick up 12.5% stake in the company. Stoverkraft, makers of Pigeon and Gilma brands, intend to deploy these funds in expanding its retail presence in South and West. The company is also looking at increasing its product portfolio and enhancing its manufacturing capacity.

Bangalore-based Kalozal Consultants advised StoverKraft on the deal. Earlier, UTI ventures and other private equity players had shown interest in investing in the company. Currently, the company has around 26 stores across Southern markets, but aims to increase its retail presence to around 200 stores across markets in South, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

UPL in talks with PE fund to bid for Arysta

United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) is in talks with a Japanese private equity fund to jointly bid for Arysta LifeScience Corporation, the world’s largest privately held crop protection and life science firm.

UPL is among six shortlisted bidders expected to put in their bids this month. The others are Israel’s Makhteshim Agan, Australia’s Nufarm and private equity funds such as Advantage Partners, Bain Capital and Permira.

Olympus Capital, owner of Arysta, is expected to generate $2 billion (about Rs 7,830 crore) from the sale which is nearly double the turnover of 124.1 billion yen (or about Rs 4,130 crore) that the company registered last year.

UPL is also preparing to bid alone just in case it does not manage to find a partner.
For this the company has already chalked out plans to raise $ 500 million (about Rs 1,960 crore) through an equity issue.

The remaining $1.5 billion (about Rs 5,870 crore) may be raised through a mix of recourse and non-recourse financing. UBS, the company’s advisor for the bid, will organise the fund if and when it is needed.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

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Cadila to buy European firm at $80 mn

Gujarat-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals is close to buying an European company that specialises in neurology and opthalmology medicines. The deal, said to be valued at $80 milllion (about Rs 320 crore), will be announced soon.

A Cadila executive said that the acquisition would enhance the company’s marketing capabilities in Europe. This will be Cadila’s second overseas facility. Last month, the company had invested $15 million (about Rs 60 crore) to set up a joint venture facility in Ethiopia.

As a part of its agressive growth plans, Cadila will develop a state-of-the-art medicine production facility at its pharma special economic zone (SEZ) coming up near Ahmedabad.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

UTI likely to sell 15% in AMC to global player

UTI Mutual Fund, owned equally by Life Insurance Corporation and three public sector banks, is likely to rope in a strategic partner by offering 15 per cent equity in the Asset Management Company, ahead of its Rs 2,000 crore ($ 500 million) initial public offering (IPO).The strategic partner is likely to be an international player, having a presence in developed markets, said sources.

The strategic partner would be offered a slot on the UTI AMC board with a view to bringing in technology expertise and international knowhow, among other things.

The existing shareholders — LIC, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda (they are financial investors) — would be diluting a combined 20 per cent stake in the Mumbai-headquartered fund house during the IPO. Post-listing, UTI MF will become the first mutual fund house in India to be traded on the stock exchanges.

Shareholding by the four state-owned entities, which bought the entire government holding in 2005 by acquiring 25 per cent stakes each in UTI AMC, would come down to a combined 65 per cent after the strategic stake sale and IPO. They had bought the government’s stake in the fund house in 2005 for Rs 1,236 crore — a blockbuster investment considering that the AMC is currently valued between Rs 6,000 and 8,000 crore within less than three years.

UTI AMC has close to 8.5 million customers and it is the third biggest fund house (after Reliance and ICICI-Prudential MFs) with assets under management of over Rs 45,000 crore.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

3i Infotech acquires US-based J&B Software

3i Infotech on Sunday announced that it has acquired a US-based J&B Software Inc and its subsidiaries for $25.25 million.J&B Software Inc. is engaged in the business of providing software products and services relating to remittance processing in the United States with blue chip customers.

It has robust and highly scalable software products for payment processing. J&B Software Inc. is engaged in the business of providing software products and services relating to remittance processing in the United States with blue chip customers.

3i Infotech expects the acquisition to be EPS accretive. “The acquisition of J&B Software Inc. is a strategic move for 3i Infotech as it would enable penetration into the blue chip BFSI customer base in the US,” the company said in a notice to BSE.

NTPC in talks with overseas companies for green energy JV

In an effort to acquire expertise it doesn’t currently possess, India’s largest power generation company NTPC Ltd is in talks with foreign firms in the renewable energy business to sell around 40% of its stake in a proposed joint venture (JV) with multilateral lending agency, Asian Development Bank (ADB).

NTPC will hold 40%, ADB, 20%, and the foreign companies will hold 40% in the venture that is part of an effort by the company and the government to reduce, if only marginally, the dependance of the country on fossil fuels such as coal and gas for power generation. The foreign companies are expected to share their expertise in the areas of wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy generation.The JV hasn't been finalised yet.

Read more in The Livemint article.

L&T buys out switchgear firm Tamco

In an attempt to take on ABB and Siemens in the medium voltage switchgear market, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) acquired the switchgear business of Malaysian company Tamco for about $110 million.L&T currently has “zero per cent” market share in the medium voltage switchgear market. With this acquisition, it expects to garner a 10% share by 2009-10.

L&T has out a 40% market share in low voltage switchgears in the domestic market.
As big-ticket investments in power generation and transmission take place in the country, L&T’s acquisition is timely and provides it a quick entry into a new segment.The acquisition would help double revenues at L&T’s electrical and electronics division to $1 billion by the year to March 2010.For L&T, the low voltage switchgear business contributed $500 million to annual revenues whereas Tamco’s revenues last year were pegged at $102 million.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Deutsche Borse to sell BSE indices overseas

Germany’s Deutsche Börse (DB), which owns a 5 per cent equity stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has been made an exclusive worldwide sales partner for all indices of the Indian bourse. The move opens up prospective trading interest for the domestic indices in European and other Asian markets.

The BSE, which is Asia’s oldest stock exchange, is yet to attract investors’ fancy in derivatives trading in its indices, and the move is aimed to attract more investor interest in its indices, especially from among foreign investors.

At a later stage, this would also help the exchange in activating its derivative segment by luring foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to its products, said its officials. Already, Barclays has an ETF (exchange-traded fund) listed on the Singapore exchange (iShares Sensex), which tracks the BSE’s main index.

The BSE would also get to earn a licence fee from the users of its indices through the latest initiative, said senior officials.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Ranbaxy to up stake in Zenotech Laboratories

Hyderabad based biotechnology firm Zenotech Laboratories informed BSE that its promoters and Ranabaxy laboratories which presently has a 7% stake in the company have agreed upon increasing the equity stake in company to 45%.Ranbaxy will buy 78,78,906 shares of Zenotech Laboratories held by its promoters. Zenotech will also allot 54,89,536 shares to Ranbaxy on a preferential basis.

A few days back Ranbaxy had acquired Zenotech Laboratories to gain access to the $65 bn market for biotechnology treatments. Zenotech has two biotechnology based cancer treatments in India with another eight being developed.

The acquisition gives chief executive officer of Ranbaxy Malvinder Singh control over research and production of drugs based on generic biotechnology, or living cell-based products, that are harder to make than chemical medicines.

DLF to raise $1.5 bn via global debt float

Real estate major DLF plans to raise $1.5 billion through an international debt float. Of this, the company plans to spend $750 million buying land and building properties in India and abroad. The remaining amount will be used to buy shares in an IPO by group company DLF Offices Trust in Singapore. According to sources, the company has appointed Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs as its advisors for the issue.

DLF Offices Trusts issue may hit the Singapore markets in January. This issue will be the second initial offering in Singapore of an Indian real estate investment trust.
These plans were approved by the company's board on Thursday.

Of late, the company has been very aggressive in forging international deals. In August, it formed a joint venture with Hines, a closely held US-based property investor, to develop an office, retail, hotel and entertainment project on a 15-acre site in Gurgaon. This month, DLF signed a collaboration with a unit of Dubai World to develop a $15 billion township near Bangalore.

Tourism finance plans $100 mn pvt equity fund

Tourism Finance Corp. of India Ltd (TFCI), which has funded the world’s top-rated spa, plans to sell shares and set up a $100 million (Rs393 crore) private equity fund to buy stakes in hotels catering to domestic travellers, its chairperson said.
The money for the seven-year fund will be raised from banks and high net worth individuals, Archana Capoor, chairperson and managing director, said. TFCI plans to sell new shares to select investors to more than double its equity capital.

TFCI has lent money to IHHR Hospitality Ltd, which operates the Ananda in the Himalayas, rated as the best destination spa this year by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine. The spa resort is located 260km north of New Delhi. TFCI plans to sell new shares to increase its equity capital to as much as Rs150 crore from Rs67 crore, Capoor said. Directors will make a decision on 22 October, she said, without giving the number of shares to be sold.

Read more in The Livemint article.

iGate to delist from Indian bourses

In order to create a simpler holding structure, the US-headquartered iGate Corp Wednesday said it plans to delist its subsidiary iGate Global Solutions from the Indian bourses.

The parent holds 80.1% stake in iGate Global and under the Indian listing norms, would need to hike its stake past 90% for delisting.iGate Global stock closed 7% up at Rs 340 on the BSE on Wednesday.On Nasdaq, iGate Corp was down 2%.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Sabre Cap, Temasek eye DBS Chola

Rana Talwar’s Sabre Capital, backed by private equity giant Temasek, is in talks with Cholamandalam DBS Finance (CDFL) to take over the latter’s mutual fund company — DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management. The deal, advised by Kotak Mahindra, is likely to be around Rs 400 crore, said sources. A few other strategic investors are also believed to be in the fray.

The fund’s assets under management (AUM) had dropped from over Rs 5,000 crore in July 2007 to around Rs 3,829 crore in September. Sources said both partners — DBS and the Murugappa group — were not happy with their MF business, which has slipped in rankings over the past few months.

Sabre, along with Temasek, currently owns Lotus India Asset Management. Temasek-owned Alexandra Fund holds 42.8% in Lotus while Sabre holds 32.2%. The balance is held by employees and domestic shareholders.

Sources said if Sabre and Temasek succeed in the acquisition, they will merge the AMC with Lotus. As per the figures available for September 2007, Lotus has built up an AUM of Rs 6,385 crore. DBS Chola, meanwhile, has an AUM of only Rs 3,829 crore.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Investors put $15 mn into Makemytrip.com in 3rd round of Funding

New Delhi-based travel portal Makemytrip.com Pvt. Ltd has got $15 million (Rs59.4 crore) in the third round of funding from US-based hedge fund Tiger Fund and existing investors Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Sierra Ventures.The company has plans for an IPO (initial public offering) by 2009 and says its latest investor brings added value to the table, specifically if it decides to list on the US bourses.

The online travel sector in India has attracted venture capital investment of close to $80 million in the last two years. But this will be the first IPO by a local Internet firm in this space.New Delhi-based Info Edge (India) Ltd, which owns job portal Naukri.com and matrimonials site Jeevansaathi.com, listed successfully on the domestic bourses last year, raising Rs174 crore. Info Edge managing director and CEO Sanjeev Bikhchandani is also on the board of Makemytrip.com.

The fresh capital will be used for technology investments and to expand the company’s offline presence across the country. To supplement its online booking channels, the travel site has recently set up retail booking offices in metros such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.It will open offices in other tier I cities this fiscal.

Makemytrip makes money from commissions on online travel bookings from its operations in India and the US. Of its $22 million commission revenue, close to $16 million comes from its India business.Set up in 2000 to offer online travel bookings for the niche India-US non-resident Indian market, the company began catering to the local market only in 2005.

Read more in The Livemint article.

Sebi to allow 30 firms to raise funds quickly

In a bid to encourage Indian corporates raise money domestically, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is in the process of rolling out a package.The package, Sebi chief M Damodaran said, will help corporates raise capital at an advantageous cost and within a shorter timeframe.

The first move would be to announce the framework for fast-track issuances, wherein listed companies with proven track records would be able to raise money immediately after filing with Sebi.The draft of the proposal has been approved by the primary market committee, Damodaran said.

This would be on the lines of the Well Known Seasoned Investor or WKSI model in the US. It’s likely to be introduced by the end of this month.Damodaran said that about 30 Indian companies, which comply with the norms set by the committee, will be allowed such issuances.

According to the draft guidelines issued on August 24, 2007, such companies would have to be listed on the BSE or the NSE for at least three years and must have an average free-float market capitalisation of at least Rs 10,000 crore during the past year.

Hero Group to foray into real estate

High valuations of prime land and a robust outlook for housing and office space is spawning new wannabes in the country’s burgeoning realty sector. The latest to enter the fray is the Hero Group, a leading maker of two-wheelers and auto parts in the country.

The group is in talks with leading real estate companies in Delhi to develop the property, Munjal said.Details of Hero Group’s realty plan are yet to be worked out, he said.

Over the last one decade, domestic and foreign companies have flocked to Gurgaon to set up their offices – driving real estate valuations in the satellite city of the National Capital as high as its landscape.

IDFC in race for IFCI`s 26% stake

Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), an investor in public works, is interested in IFCI, competing with the Blackstone Group and General Electric Capital Corporation for a stake in the state-run project financier.

The winner of the 26 per cent IFCI stake will gain access to a market where lending grew 28 per cent last year, and where the central bank limits foreign banks’ ownership of local private rivals to 5 per cent. IFCI, bailed out by the government in 2003 because of bad debts, in July announced plans to sell stake to a local or overseas investor to bolster its capital

Other bidders including a group led by billionaire Wilbur Ross and comprising the Goldman Sachs Group, Standard Chartered and HDFC, were vying with Cargill Financial Services Corporation, Natixis and Newbridge Asia for the stake, IFCI said last month.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

ING Vysya Bank to raise Rs 350 cr capital

ING Vysya Bank is planning to raise Rs 350 crore as fresh capital through a qualified institutional placement to fund its growth and augment the capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

The Bangalore-based private sector bank, which is issuing 7.47 million equity shares, will seek shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general body meeting on November 6.

The board, which met on Saturday, has also approved a preferential allotment of 6.07 million shares to ING Mauritius Holdings and ING Mauritius Investment. ING holds 43.86 per cent stake in ING Vysya Bank.

Read more in The Business standard article.

HDFC buys 9.9% more in fund arm

Housing Development and Finance Company (HDFC) has bought an additional 9.9% stake in HDFC Asset Management from its UK-based joint venture partner Standard Life.Standard Life sold the stake at Rs 181.81 crore, thus valuing HDFC Mutual Fund at Rs 1,836.47 crore. HDFC MF manages assets worth Rs 41,333.40 crore.However, Standard Life continues to be a co-sponsor of the mutual fund business of HDFC.

HDFC will now hold a 60% stake, while Standard Life will hold the remaining 40% in the joint venture. Standard Life and HDFC are also partners for HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company, where again HDFC holds a majority 81.9%.

Rad more in The DNA Money article.

Netxcell plans to raise US $3mn from VC's

NetXcell Ltd, the pioneers in providing Telecom Application Services today announced that they have raised US $1mn as their first round of Venture Capital funding. NetXcell has received this funding from Ike Lee and Ruderman Capital. The company is taking VC route to raise around US $3 mn in the first phase which will support their expansion plans in India and USA.

NetXcell which is a VAS provider in India is also expanding to USA by setting up their office in Dallas last month. Mr. Dayakar Puskoor, Executive Chairman, NetXcell would be helping the US operations where they would be playing the role of VAS enabler not only for telecom operators but also for media companies or anyone who wants to reach out to a huge number of audience in one go.

Read more in The Moneycontrol article.

Ansal forays into power sector with 12 MW wind farm

Realty player Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd today announced its foray into the power sector with the establishment of a 12 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat at an investment of over Rs 72 crore.

The company had amended its objects clause to diversify into the power sector after receiving its shareholders' approval, it informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The equipment for the wind farm was sourced from Suzlon Energy. The company also expects to earn 25,000 carbon credit points a year through the project.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Uco Bank plans Rs 250 cr issue

Public sector Uco Bank is planning a follow-on public offer (FPO) of shares to raise Rs 200-250 crore in the first half of the calendar year 2008 to fund asset expansion.
“The bank also has plans to raise Rs 200 crore in tier-II bonds by March-end 2008,” Uco Bank Chairman and Managing Director S K Goel said today.

Uco Bank has submitted a capital restructuring plan to the government. It has suggested for a conversion of Rs 300 crore worth equity shares into preference shares and the bank expects to get the government’s nod in 45 days. At the moment, the bank has a paid-up capital of Rs 800 crore.

The share sale would dilute the government’s holding to 55 per cent from the present 75 per cent.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Garware Offshore plans JV with Norway firm for shipbuilding yard

Mumbai-based Garware Offshore Services Ltd, a company that offers ships for oil and gas exploration activities, plans to enter the shipbuilding business by setting up an exclusive facility for making offshore support vessels.

This shipbuilding yard will be a joint venture with Norway-based ship manufacturer Havyard Leirvik AS, promoted by Havyard Group AS. Havyard Leirvik is a leader in making offshore ships, ice-breaking ships and other types of specialized vessels.

Garware Offshore had recently signed an agreement with Havyard Leirvik for exclusive representation for the marketing and sale of ships built by them and ship designs produced by Havyard Maritime AS to Indian shipping companies and yards.

Read more in The Livemint article.

Radico Khaitan forms JV to set up distillery in Maharashtra

Spirits marketer Radico Khaitan has entered into a tripartite joint venture with NV Distillers and Ridhi Sidhi Pvt Ltd to set up a greenfield distillery in Aurangabad (Maharashtra) with a combined investment of Rs160 crore.

The JV Radico NV Distilleries Maharashtra Ltd, in which Radico will have 36% stake, would manufacture ENA (Extra Neutralised Alcohol), IMFL(Indian Made Foreign Liquor)and Ethanol. It will also have a bottling facility.This will be Radico’s second distillery after its Rampur facility in Uttar Pradesh, and with a capacity of 36 million litres per annum, it will be the largest distillery in Maharashtra, it said.

Read more in The Livemint article.

Yes Bank raises Rs 1.82 bn in debt

Private sector lender Yes Bank said over the weekend it raised Rs 1.82 billion through private placement of bonds to augment its capital adequacy. The bank said in a statement it had placed unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible, subordinated bonds worth Rs 500 million with an option to retain the oversubscription.

The fund raising is part of a plan to raise Rs 8.4 billion in equity and debt. Yes Bank said it would privately place or sell 20 million shares to qualified institutional buyers to raise up to Rs 5 billion.The rest would be raised in Tier I and Tier II debt, it said.

Indian banks, including the largest lender State Bank of India, are raising debt and equity to sustain high loan growth and meet the central bank's capital adequacy norms.State-run State Bank of India plans to sell shares worth Rs 100 billion around the end of 2007 and Bank of India also plans to sell some stake.

Kotak Bank in talks with Buffett, others to raise $400m

Kotak Mahindra Bank is set to raise around $400 million through a qualified institutional offering this week. The private sector bank is in talks with a string of investors including funds of Warren Buffett and other strategic investors for the proposed placement.

The bank may issue 17 million equity shares (around 5% equity) to institutional investors. It has also sounded out some of the private equity players, foreign insurance firms and other bluechip investors. The bank is also said to be in talks with T Rowe Price.

At present, Warburg Pincus holds 9.14% in the bank. The issue is likely to be completed in the next few days. Sources say the bank is looking at placing shares at around Rs 1,050 per share. Kotak Mahindra shares ended at Rs 959.45 on BSE on Friday. The stock has moved 31% in the last one month, and 4% last week. The deal would enable the bank raise around Rs 1,700 crore. Citi is the advisor to the issue.

After the issue, promoter shareholding is likely to come down to around 52%. The promoters have to bring down their shareholding from the current 55.5%. As on June 2007, the capital adequacy ratio of the bank was 11.33%.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Air India expected to unload 15% stake in IPO

State-owned Air India will likely unload 15 per cent of its equity in an initial public offer (IPO) when its merger with domestic counterpart Indian Airlines is completed. The government has said it is merging the two airlines in a bid to create a "world-class airline" that can compete globally and domestically. Singapore Airlines and Emirates have already expanded into India's booming travel market.

The IPO would be staged once the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines was finished and both airlines' operations were fully integrated.Air India is the nation's biggest international carrier and Indian Airlines is the second-largest domestic airline after privately run Jet Airlines.

The merged airline will fly under the brand of Air India domestically and internationally with a combined fleet size of more than 112 aicraft - comparable to the best airlines in the Asian region.

Read more in The Economic Times article.