Bharti Airtel, SingTel to float SPV for MTN

Billionaire Sunil Mittal, the founder of Bharti Airtel, plans to set up a separate company in partnership with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) that will be the vehicle for acquisition of the South Africa-based MTN Group.

The special purpose vehicle (SPV) will raise funds, including bridge loans. The company will later explore the option of selling American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs) to repay the bridge loan.The SPV may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas.

The move to float an SPV will help Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV. The quantum of the stake will depend on the cash-share ratio, which is yet to be finalised between Bharti and MTN. Bharti Airtel would raise funds by diluting the equity of the SPV and, if needed, the promoters' stake in Bharti and that of its partner SingTel to part-finance the deal.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Related Story:
Bharti, MTN in talks for 50:50 cash-share deal
Bharti may rope in SingTel for MTN buy

Omnitech Info to raise $ 35 mln via shares, bonds

Omnitech Infosolutions Ltd said on Wednesday its board has approved raising up to $35 million through various means such as American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, placement to institutions or overseas convertible bonds.

Tata Steel may raise Rs 4,000 cr via non-fungible GDRs

Tata Steel is considering raising around Rs 4,000 crore through an issue of non-fungible GDRs to part-finance its acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus.
According to merchant banking sources, the company has started discussions with institutional investors on the prospect of launching the instrument. The company, they said, will take a call after receiving feedbacks from likely buyers.

The equity portion of the issue raised around Rs 3,700 crore while the preference offer mopped up Rs 6,000 crore. The preference shares will be converted into equity on September 1, 2009. The company’s equity capital has been enhanced by 20% due to the equity portion of the rights issue and it would go up by 35%, post conversion of preference shares.

Read more in

The Economic Times article.

Baring Private Equity Asia Invests $22 Million In KS Oils For 8.86% Stake

Baring Private Equity Partners Asia has picked up 8.86 per cent stake in leading edible oil manufacturer KS Oils Ltd for Rs 90 crore ($22 milion). Baring Private Equity Asia III Mauritius has picked up 21.48 million shares at Rs 41.90 apiece (of face value Re 1).

A board meeting of the publicly listed KS Oils on August 22 has cleared the deal, the company informed the stock exchanges. The company has also made a preferential allotment of 23,866,350 warrants (to be priced at Rs 41.9 at conversion) to promoters of the company. KS Oils is promoted by the Garg family of Morena, Madhya Pradesh.
KS Oils had last year raised Rs 90 crore from private equity fund, Citigroup Venture Capital International, which owns about 14.82 per cent stake in the company. CVCI is also believed to be investing again in KS Oils a similar amount.

Early this month, KS Oils had said it would raise $60 million from overseas investors. It plans to raise $25 million through a preferential issue of global depository receipts (GDRs) in one or more tranches to foreign funds such as CVCIGP II Client Rosehill Ltd and CVCIGP II Employee Rosehill Ltd. It also plans to issue Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) or GDRs of up to $35 million in one or more tranches. The $22 million fund raising from Baring is part of this fund raising.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is acting as sole financial adviser to KS Oils in all its fund raising efforts through private placement of equity, GDRs and FCCBs.

Larsen & Toubro plans to raise $700 million

India’s Larsen & Toubro Ltd has sought shareholder approval for raising up to $700 million (Rs2,800 crore), as the country’s largest construction and engineering firm expands its operations overseas.

The company said it wants to raise the money through issues that could include global depositary receipts (GDRs), American depositary receipts (ADRs), foreign currency convertible bonds or other equity related instruments.

It has also sought approval from shareholders at the firm’s annual general meeting on Friday to authorise the board to convert previously issued GDRs to ADRs and list at Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.

Northgate to raise Rs 450 cr through GDRs

Northgate Technologies, a Hyderabad-based technology and internet telephony services provider, will raise up to Rs 450 crore through the issue of global depository receipts (GDRs).

Addressing the media after the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) here on Wednesday, Venkat Meenavalli, chairman and managing director, said the GDR issue, including a greenshoe option, would be listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange within the next two to three months.

At present, the company has 320 servers in London and around 50 in Hong Kong.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Kotak Mahindra plans to raise $300 mn

Kotak Mahindra Bank is likely to hit the market with a fresh issue of over $300 million in the third quarter of the current financial year. The move will help the bank bring down the promoter shareholding. The group’s capital market exposure has exceeded the Reserve Bank of India’s mandated 40% of net worth because of the buoyant capital market.

Currently, the promoter shareholding in the bank is at 55.5%. The new issue will see a dilution of around 5% capital. The promoter shareholding, post-issue, would go down to around 52%.The bank could raise the money through a QIP or GDR route. Though the capital market exposure of the bank is only at around 25%, the group exposure is above 40%.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Indiabulls Real Estate raises $400mn via GDRs

Indiabulls Real Estate (IREL), Delhi-headquartered property developer, has raised $400 million selling global depository receipts (GDRs), just over three-months after it was separated from parent Indiabulls Financial Services.

The GDRs were priced at $10.32 apiece (nearly Rs 412), a discount of Rs 41 (about 9%) a share compared to the prevailing share price of Rs 452.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.The money raised by IREL includes $40 million from an over-allotment option as demand outstripped supply.

In May, group company Indiabulls Financial Services raised $275 million through a GDR issue.

Merrill Lynch & Co was the sole book-runner for the GDR. The fundraising by Indiabulls Real Estate comes at a time when a slew of Indian real-estate developers are tapping the domestic and overseas markets to develop projects in world’s second-fastest growing economy.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Brushman India to raise $30 mn

Brushman India on Friday said it will raise $30 million through the issue of securities in the domestic and international markets.

The board of directors at its meeting today approved the allotment of various securities including Global Depository Receipts, Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and equity shares, subject to necessary provisions and approvals.

Pursuant to the shareholders approval the board has decided to borrow upto Rs 200 crore, subject to necessary approvals.

An Extra-ordinary General Meeting of the shareholders would be convened on July 25, to get their approval for the above.

UTI Bank promoters plan fresh retail issue

The Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), the principal promoter shareholders of UTI Bank, want the bank management to give retail investors a chance to make further investments in the bank’s growth through subscription to fresh equity shares.

UTI Bank was planning to raise $600 million through a global depository receipts (GDR) issue and a simultaneous preferential offer to its promoters, which also include the General Insurance Corporation (GIC).

The bank, at its extraordinary general meeting on June 25, deferred its capital raising plans after both SUUTI, an entity carved out of the erstwhile Unit Trust of India, and LIC asked for more time to take a call on subscribing to the preferential offer. SUUTI is the largest shareholder in the bank with 27.43 per cent stake and LIC owns 10.38 per cent of the bank.

Read more in The Business Standard article

UTI Bank puts off $600m GDR

UTI Bank, a mid-sized private sector bank, has deferred its $600 million global depository receipts (GDR) issue as well as the simultaneous preferential offer to its promoters.

The bank said the decision to put off capital raising plans was taken in order to provide promoter shareholders - Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), Life Insurance Corporation and General Insurance Corporation - more time to take a call on subscribing to the preferential offer.

SUUTI is the largest shareholder in UTI Bank with 27.43 per cent stake. LIC owns 10.38 per cent of the bank’s equity and GIC 2.38 per cent.

In a statement released after the bank’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here today, UTI Bank said the special resolutions on raising capital have been deferred “to provide promoter shareholders further time for consultation” on the preferential share offer.

The shareholders would again meet on July 13 to consider the plans to raise capital. The shareholders, however, passed a resolution increasing the bank’s authorised capital to Rs 500 crore from Rs 300 crore.

Banking sources said LIC, which bid in the recently concluded ICICI Bank’s follow-on equity offer for shares worth about Rs 4,000 crore, has asked for more time to arrange for funds as it was currently experiencing a “tight liquidity” situation.

SUUTI, which has already obtained the government’s permission, also needs to arrange for funds to subscribe to its portion of the preferential offer.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

UTI Bank hires Citi, Goldman for $600 mn GDR

UTI Bank Ltd has hired Citigroup and Goldman Sachs to handle its $600 million global depository receipt sale at the end of June, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, 22 June.

UTI Bank, which on 1 June said it would issue up to 42.4 million new shares, will be selling up to 13% of its enlarged share capital, the source said.Analysts say the funds from the offering will be used to meet capital requirements, as UTI Bank and most lenders in India are facing huge loan demand.

UTI Bank shares have risen nearly 31% this year, outperforming a 5% increase in India’s benchmark index.Indian lenders have some of Asia’s biggest fund-raising plans this year, with top private bank ICICI Bank selling up to $4.9 billion worth of shares and smaller rival HDFC Bank planning a $1 billion offering.

Two teams of bankers will pitch UTI Bank’s deal to investors in the United States, Asia and Europe, with books opening on 26 June and pricing expected for 29 June, the source said.

PFC to mop up $1 b from overseas mkts

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is planning to tap the overseas market to raise a whopping $1 billion in the current fiscal. The borrowing programme is aimed at meeting the funding requirements of the power sector, which requires an estimated Rs 8,50,000 crore during the 11th Plan to add 68,869 mw of fresh capacity.

The company also plans to raise Rs 9,000 crore of debt by floating power bonds in the domestic market to get wider retail participation. A portion of it would also be raised through FCCBs.

PFC is a nodal funding agency in the power sector that provides debt and quasi equity to projects. The company was listed in February after an IPO through which it raised about Rs 1,000 crore.

For its overseas borrowings, the company has secured RBI’s approval to raise $500 million through external commercial borrowings (ECBs). The official said after this fundraising exercise, the company would seek the apex bank’s approval for raising $500 million more in the overseas markets through a diversified portfolio of instruments such as floating power bonds, looking at the ADR/GDR route or lines of credit with international financial institutions such as ADB.

“The company’s first tranche of borrowings this year is already in an advanced stage. PFC would launch a roadshow next week in the US to raise $300 million through private placement. It would also seek approval to raise resources through Euro bonds. Another $200 million is proposed to be raised through syndicated loans. The entire borrowings programme would be launched in two months,” the official said.

Funds worth Rs 12,500 crore are expected to be raised by PFC in the domestic market this fiscal. Apart from bonds, it would raise medium-term loans worth Rs 3,500 crore from institutions.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Parekh Aluminex plans Rs 125-150 cr via GDR or FCCB

Small cap company Parekh Aluminex plans to raise funds via any of the routes - Global Depositary Receipt, or GDR, or Foreign Currency Convertible Bond, or FCCB. The company makes aluminium foil food container. As for the company's capex plans, Amitabh Parekh, Chairman & Managing Director of Parekh Aluminex says the company plans to raise around Rs 125-150 crore. The rest of the capex will be funded by the company's existing consortium bankers, who have already sanctioned Rs 75 crore to the company, he informed.

He said that the move is in line with the company's expanision plans as now, it has begun to cater to the global market. As of now, it was catering to only the UK market; now it has received huge orders from America, Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

Read more in

The Moneycontrol article.

SEBI allows MFs to invest up to $4bn overseas

Market regulator SEBI has allowed mutual funds to invest up to four billion dollars in ADRs, GDRs, foreign securities and overseas exchange traded funds.

"Pursuant to the enhancement in overseas investment limits by RBI, it has now been decided that mutual funds can invest in ADRs, GDRs, foreign securities within overall limit of four billion dollars," the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said in a circular.

The circular was issued following the announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual credit policy.

The investment will be with a sub-ceiling for individual mutual funds. This should not exceed 10 per cent of the net assets managed by them as on March 31 of each relevant year, and subject to a maximum of 200 million dollars per mutual fund, it said.

Indiabulls Fin prices GDR at 4% discount

Domestic brokerage and financial services firm Indiabulls Financial Services has priced its $275 million global depository receipt (GDR) offering at a slight discount to its prevailing market price in India.

The GDR, managed by Goldman Sachs International and Merrill Lynch International, is priced at $13.06 (Rs 535.46 calculated at Rs 41 a dollar). This is a discount of 4.21 per cent to the latest price quoted by the company’s scrip on the Bombay Stock Exchange, which is Rs 559 a share.

Sources said the issue was oversubscribed by 2.4 times and the total demand for the offering was over $671 million. The large investors who have participated in the offering include steel tycoon LN Mittal, Fidelity and Orient Global. Large FIIs have been increasing their stake in Indiabulls and now own 60 per cent of the company.

In a notice to the BSE, Indiabulls Financial Services said the GDR offering on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange also has an over-allotment option of up to $25 million to Merrill Lynch International. The issue was priced after market hours on Wednesday.

Read more in The Business Standard article