Reliance Money gets nod to acquire 10 pc stake in NMCE

Financial services firm Reliance Money has obtained approval from Ministry of Consumer Affairs to acquire a 10 per cent stake in the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (NMCE) Board.Reliance Money had proposed to acquire a total of up to 26 per cent stake in NMCE in two phases. NMCE had accordingly applied for necessary approvals from the regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC), which in turn, recommended the acquisition to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG is the first large business group to get into the commodity exchange space in India.

Rel Infra, China co in $3 bn deal

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure Ltd is joining hands with Shanghai Electric Power Co, China’s second biggest equipment manufacturer, to build power equipment in India.This will be the first time a domestic power utility is inking a power equipment-manufacturing joint venture with a Chinese company.

Under the JV, a facility with an initial capacity of up to 10,000 mw would be set up. This may be scaled up later. The facility is likely to go on stream by 2010.

The agreement, which is to be signed today, will see an investment of $3 billion. The JV would also offer third-party services, including engineering, procurement and construction work, to power companies. Shanghai Electric will offer technical and design support, operations and maintenance, setting up of power equipment and after-sales service as part of the third-party services.

Both Reliance and Shanghai Electric would hold 50% in the company.It would also cater to orders from abroad, especially from neighbouring countries.

Reliance Big ties up with Clooney, Cage, Hanks & Pitt

Reliance Big, the entertainment arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Sunday took a giant leap into Hollywood by entering into a slew of development deals with production houses promoted by leading Hollywood names such as George Clooney, Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Chris Columbus, Jim Carrey and Jay Roach.

The move is in line with the company’s vision of becoming one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the world. The Hollywood entities involved in the development deals, brokered by Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency, are Cage’s Saturn Productions, Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Columbus’ 1492 pictures, Hanks’ Playtone Productions, Pitt’s B Entertainment and Roach’s Everyman Pictures.

Reliance Big is hoping to have a slate of 10 films, estimated at around $1 billion, ready for release by 2010. The above-mentioned actors will be responsible for the creative aspects—script, casting and production.The company sees the development deals as the first major investments in Hollywood and a building block in the creation of a virtual studio or a new-generation media company, and an integral part of the company’s long-term strategy for media investments in Hollywood, to become a fully-integrated movie company with substantial holdings in production, distribution and exhibition. The deals also ensure that the company will have the complete Indian rights for the films that Reliance Entertainment co-finances.

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ADAG goes to Hollywood with blockbuster plans

ADAG goes to Hollywood with blockbuster plans

In an audacious foray into Hollywood, Reliance Big Entertainment (RBEL), the entertainment arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is learnt to be in negotiations to produce three major movies featuring mainstream Hollywood stars. A large delegation from ADAG is currently preparing for a major international announcement on May 19 at the Cannes film festival, where these plans will be unveiled. This will be the first time an Indian entertainment firm makes an entry into Hollywood.

RBEL could announce a slew of international films. The group is trying to rope in Hollywood actors like Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Will Smith. The buzz is that ADAG is also trying to line up Angelina Jolie for the announcements at Cannes.

The movies will target the global audience and will be mainstream Hollywood releases.The estimated deal size is said to be in the region of $300 million, one of the biggest inked by an Indian entertainment company.

It is unclear whether the company is planning to ink deals with Hollywood studios or with the stars themselves. It is also not clear if the Hollywood stars will finally make an appearance at the ADAG event at the festival.

Recently, RBEL, which runs cinemas in India through its Adlabs subsidiary, entered the US market under the brand name ‘BIG’. The company has acquired more than 200 theatres across 28 locations in North America, including New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Blackstone, Reliance buy into Everonn

Three private equity investors — Blackstone, New Vernon and Reliance (part of ADAG) have picked up equity shares and warrants in the Chennai-based Everonn Systems Ltd, a company specializing in e-learning and virtual classrooms.

The company has raised Rs 167.89 crore from the PE investors besides a equity warrant issue to the promoters. Deutsche Securities (represented by Reliance), The India Fund Inc of Blackstone and New Vernon will invest Rs 91.39 crore immediately. The promoters would pump in Rs 50 crore towards the warrant issue. In all the dilution would be around 9% of the company's equity.

The company needs funds to invest in three areas. (a) ICT Business — introduce computer education in government schools, (b) setting up virtual classrooms which will increase to 700 colleges across the country from the present 250 and (c) set-up i-Schools which will have content from virtual classrooms plus content on intranet.

ADAG acquires Hollywood film restorer

In its first acquisition in the digital services space, ADAG’s Reliance Big Entertainment has acquired US-based DTS Inc’s Digital Images Business (DDI) for about $7.5 million.

DDI popularly known as Lowry Digital Images, is a well-known independent restoration firm in Hollywood, providing picture quality improvement services and digital restoration.

It’s body of work includes over 300 well-known feature films — Casablanca, Singing in the rain, Sunset Boulevard, Indiana Jones trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy, James Bond classics — with output to DVD, 35mm film, digital cinema and Imax.

Industry observers said that this acquisition would help Reliance Big Entertainment to cater to the rapidly growing 3D content market with technology solutions for correction in original stereoscopic footage as well as re-rendering of 2D footage into 3D.

DDI recently provided custom image processing services for New Line Cinema and Walden Media’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth 3D, the world’s first digitally captured stereoscopic live action film shot in digital 3D.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Anil Ambani, Kotak eye commexes

According to The Times of India the Reliance Anil Ambani group is believed to have decided to enter the commodity trading business by setting up a large exchange in the country as part of its plans to capitalise on the vast opportunities in this market.

Besides R-ADAG, another corporate giant Kotak group is also mulling over setting up a commodity bourse by acquisition of some regional exchange to get the platform and other technical support, sources close to the development said.

The group is already present in the commodity brokerage business through Reliance Money. Even as the group officials did not wish to comment, sources said the new business could have some existing bourses as well as a strategic associate as partners to gain technical, business and infrastructure support.

Another emerging conglomerate Indiabulls group, which is present in businesses like brokerage, financial services, real estate, retail and power have already tied up with state-run trading firm MMTC to start a commodity exchange, for which it is awaiting necessary approvals.

ADAG floats Tech Reliance for IT debut

The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) is foraying into the information technology consulting and services segment, for which it has formed a subsidiary, Tech Reliance.The group is also looking to poach management- and senior-level executives from major IT firms in the country.

The group is planning to bring in all its IT departments under the subsidiary. Tech Reliance, apart from providing services to the group companies, will also provide services to diverse industry sectors in the country.The planned services would include consultancy, business process outsourcing and software development, among others.

The company will initially look at providing services to industry sectors such as telecommunications, financial services, utilities, entertainment and healthcare.
The company intends to take on existing IT biggies, including Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, IBM and Accenture, by providing similar services in the country.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

R-ADAG in talks to buy out Seventymm

In its bid to expand its footprint in the entertainment business, Anil Ambani-controlled Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is negotiating a buyout of India’s largest online movie rental company Seventymm Services Pvt. Ltd, which delivers video compact discs and digital video discs to homes of around 25,000 customers.Reliance Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, part of ADAG, is already into movie rentals under the brand of Big Flix.

An executive at venture fund Matrix Partners India, a local arm of US-based firm Matrix Partners, which is one of the key investors in Seventymm with a $7 million (Rs28.7 crore) investment,declined to comment on the deal. Other backers of Seventymm include venture capital firms such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson and ePlanet Ventures.

Bangalore-based Seventymm is the largest online movie rental service in India, offering access to more than 15,000 titles across multiple languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani and Punjabi.

Seventymm, promoted by entrepreneur Raghav Kher, recently acquired New Delhi-based Madhouse, which was the first Indian company to offer movie DVD rental service through the Internet, phone and text messaging services, for an undisclosed amount.

Read more in The Livemint article.

ADAG hikes stake in Saregama to 12.25%

The Anil Ambani Dhirubhai Group (ADAG) has scaled up its holding in the Kolkata-based music company Saregama India by a shade over 7 per cent to 12.25 per cent through a block deal.

Sonata Investments, an investment firm of the ADAG, bought 1.06 million shares, representing a 7.1 per cent stake, in Saregama on Tuesday from a foreign institutional investor, T Rowe Price International. Priced at Rs 250 a share, the deal is valued at Rs 26.5 crore. At the current market price, the company is valued at around Rs 450 crore.

However, industry sources said the acquisition might be a precursor to the Ambani group making a 20 per cent open offer by exceeding the 15 per cent level in the Goneka firm from open market purchase.

Sources close to Saragama said the promoters, the Goenka group, was confident of keeping any hostile takeover attempt at bay due to their 51 per cent shareholding in the company.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Flag Telecom buys US-based Yipes for $300mn

Flag Telecom, an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company, has signed a definitive agreement to buy US-based Yipes Communcations for $300 million.

This was announced by Anil Ambani, chairman of the R-ADAG group in Mumbai a short while ago.Ambani said Flag will leverage its reach globally, and extend the reach of Yipes across the world.

Anil ‘tells’ market mavens RIL gas ‘huge’

Last week, the single-largest individual investor in Reliance Industries, Anil Ambani, met with the Who’s Who of Dalal Street, including bulge-bracket names such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Nimish Shah, Ramesh Damani, Raamdeo Agarwal and Radhakrishan Damani.

The chairman of Reliance ADAG Group had parted ways with elder brother Mukesh on “ownership issues” that eventually saw the Reliance empire being split vertically.

So it came as a surprise to the 25-odd stockmarket stalwarts present that Anil had chosen to speak like a staunch votary of RIL - even discounting his stake in the company - because of the public way the brothers had shed bad blood before reaching Splitsville.

Anil is said to have told the Dalal St experts that RIL holds far more gas than what has been already certified of 80 million cubic meters per day.

Read more in DNA Money article.

Reliance Cap offloads stake in Reliance Energy

Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Capital on Monday sold its entire stake in another group company Reliance Energy to other promoters in a block deal on the bourses, booking profits of about Rs 350 crore.

Reliance Capital, the financial services arm of ADAG, sold over 1.3 crore shares, representing 5.79 per cent stake in Reliance Energy, market sources said.

REL shares were trading at Rs 549 in afternoon trade at the BSE, up 7.4 per cent from the previous close of Rs 511.30.

Shares of RCL were trading nearly four per cent higher at Rs 941, after hitting a life-time high of Rs 946.40 earlier in the day.At the current price, the deal size amounts to about Rs 725 crore. Sources close to RCL also confirmed the deal.

Besides Reliance Capital, the other promoters of Reliance Energy include AAA Project Ventures, Reliance Innoventures, Hansdhwani Trading Company and members of Ambani family.

The promoter holding in ADAG's power utility venture stands at about 35 per cent or 7.87 crore shares.

Anil boarding Air Deccan?

On Thursday, the Street was abuzz with a strong rumour that the pioneer of low-cost aviation could be within striking distance of a deal with Reliance’s Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG). Industry sources in the know of Gopinath’s talks with various investors said a final word is still some time away.

Gopinath is in the process of raising $75-100 million for the expansion of his business. He has revealed he could dilute between 15 and 26% stake of his airline to a suitable professional (not strategic) investor.An analyst said the rumour was sparked by Capt Gopinath’s Mumbai visit, from moving on to London.

Meanwhile, analysts are putting one and one together and speculating that Capt Gopinath could well be opening talks with Kingfisher Airline chairman Vijay Mallya, who, on Wednesday, sealed an acquisition deal with Scottish whisky maker Whyte & Mackay.

Industry sources ruled it out saying “It is not in that connection.” Gopinath has publicly spurned Mallya’s interest in his carrier, saying Mallya should mind his own business.

Read more in DNA Money article.

Rel Cap buys 5% stake in Network 18

Reliance Capital, a Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm, has acquired 5% stake in Network 18, the group holding company of broadcasters TV18 and GBN.

According to a release issued by Reliance Capital to the BSE today, the company has acquired 25.55 lakh shares, representing 5.02% stake in Network 18 Fincap, through open market transactions on May 10.When contacted, an RCL spokesperson confirmed the deal.

The transaction comes on the heels of RCL's open offer for acquiring 20 % stake in television broadcaster TV Today Network, which runs Hindi news channel Aaj Tak and English news channel Headlines Today.

The company had announced an open offer would be made at a price of Rs 130.50 per share amounting to approximately Rs 150 crore.

Reliance once again largest fund house

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company, the Reliance Mutual Fund, retains its position as the country’s largest fund house having assets of over Rs 48,000 crore, even as the collective wealth of all the fund houses soars past Rs 3.50 lakh crore.

Reliance Mutual Fund’s asset under management (AUM) swelled to Rs 48,828 crore in April gaining Rs 2,521 crore over Rs 46,307 crore last month, according to latest figures released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

In terms of average asset under managements in April as well, Reliance Mutual Fund remained ahead of its peers at Rs 49,861.90 crore while ICICI Prudential stood at Rs 42,444.53 crore.Public sector fund house UTI Mutual Fund was at the third slot with AUMs of Rs 35,517 crore, which fell about Rs 66 crore from last month.

HDFC MF and Franklin Templeton Investments, the other two funds among the top five, gained over 11 per cent in their respective AUMs over the last month. HDFC MF’s AUMs stood at Rs 31,485 crore followed by Franklin Templeton at Rs 24,510 crore in April.

Flag Tele listing on LSE soon

Flag Telecom, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Communication (RComm), has mandated Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank as lead managers for the maiden initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.ADAG is expecting to recover ten times the value paid for buying the company in 2002.

Flag, which runs an international fibre bandwidth all across the globe, has announced an investment of Rs 7,000 crore to set up a new generation network which will provide high speed transmission. The cash from the IPO will be used to partly finance the ambitious project which is expected to be up and running by 2009. The new network will link to the Mediterranean to Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta, Libya and Lebanon, Trans-Pacific to the US and Japan, Far East and Africa.

Read more in The Business Standard article.