RJ Corp takes 100% in ice-cream venture Cream Bell

Having acquired part-owner CK Jaipuria’s share in Cream Bell,RJ Corp-owned Devyani Food Industries now control 100% of the entity.

The Cream Bell business is valued at around Rs 450-550 crore.The firm has subsequently multiplied about four-five times with capacity expansion and increase in Cream Bell’s market share.The historical valuation of Cream Bell, carried out by private investment firm International Finance Corporation (IFC) a year ago, was about Rs 120 crore.

The Cream Bell business was originally floated as Universal Dairy Products as a 50:50 venture between Ravi Jaipuria and his brother CK Jaipuria. But after mutual discussions, it was decided that CKJ exit this business. The process of the share transfer was kicked off some months back.

With the new plant set-up in Goa, Cream Bell will cater to the western and southern regions. Cream Bell has been till now largely focused in the northern region. The plant at Goa, the second for Cream Bell, is expected to have a capacity of 6-million litres. The existing plant in Baddi, also with a similar production capacity, caters to the northern markets. RJ Corp is hoping to leverage its bottling network in Goa to establish the ice-cream business in the region.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Tata Power ties up debt for $4.2 bln project

Indian power utility Tata Power Ltd said on Thursday it has signed agreements with a consortium of banks to part fund its upcoming 4,000 megawatt power plant in the Western state of Gujarat. Debt from Indian banks and multilateral agencies would account for three quarters of the project cost, which is estimated at $4.2 billion. Tata Power, part of the diversified Tata group, said in a statement the first of the five power units will be set up in September 2011 and the entire plant would be commissioned by 2012.

The power would be supplied to five states, it said. About $1.8 billion would funded via external commercial borrowings from agencies including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corp. Separately, the ADB said in a statement on Thursday it has approved a loan for $450 million for the project. Another 55.5 billion rupees ($1.38 billion) would be rupee denominated loans from Indian financial institutions and the remainder would be equity.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

RBI rejects allotment of shares to IFC

RBI (Reserve bank of India) has rejected the proposed preferential allotment of shares to IFC by Karnataka Bank. In a communique to the BSE, the bank said that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide its letter dated April 16, 2008 has communicated to the Bank, its inability to accede to the Bank's proposal for allotment of 63,73,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a price of Rs 225 per share including the premium of Rs 215 per share on preferential basis to International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington.

Cairn India to raise $250 mn loan from IFC

Cairn India has approached International Finance Corp for a $250 million loan for development of its oil and gas block in Rajasthan, and to build a 600 km crude oil pipeline, documents disclosed by World Bank’s lending arm showed.

The IFC board is likely to approve the loan by May end. “The new financing is to replace an existing facility that was limited to finance the upstream development,” the IFC report said.

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.

US fund to pick up stake in Angel Infin Private

A US-based private equity fund is close to picking up a minority stake in Angel Infin Private, the holding company of domestic brokerage house Angel Broking.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private equity arm of World Bank, is another strong contender in the race. Two private equity investors, one each from Europe and Asia respectively, have also evinced an interest in the stake sale.

The due diligence process has been completed and only the final financial negotiations remain, according to sources. The deal is likely to be formally announced shortly. The valuation of the group is close to Rs 1,200-1,300 crore.

The new investor will be issued fresh equity in Angel Infin Private. Angel expects to raise Rs 150 crore from the investor to fund its retail expansion, taking the number of its branches from 80 to 260 in smaller cities.

The company plans to garner around Rs 250 crore through private placement in two tranches. It will raise around Rs 150 crore in the first tranche by diluting around 10-15 per cent. In the second tranche, by next year, it would mobilise another Rs 100 crore by diluting 5-7 per cent holding.

Read more in The Business standard article.

IFC to buy stake in Angel Broking

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector funding arm of World Bank, is in talks with Angel Broking group to pick up a minority stake in its holding company.

The group is in advanced discussions with four global investors and IFC is one of them. “We expect to finalise an investor soon,” said Angel Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Thakkar.

The new investor will be issued fresh equity in Angel Infin Private, a holding company of group. Angel expects to raise Rs 150 crore from the investors to fund its retail expansion, taking its branches from 80 to 260 in smaller cities.

The multilateral agency discloses the investment proposal as part of its efforts to enhance the transparency of its activities. IFC said the proposed investment will help Angel introduce new products to serve its clients more effectively.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Max India plans acquisitions in contract research, insurance

Insurance and health-care firm Max India Ltd said it secured a Rs300 crore investment commitment from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, for its Max Healthcare unit. The company has raised another Rs1,000 crore from the market to fuel expansion of its insurance business.

Max, which is promoted by entrepreneur Analjit Singh, plans acquisitions in contract research as well as health insurance, while adding two hospitals a year to its network. The group plans to acquire contract research organizations in the US and Europe to bolster its existing operation, Neeman Medical International.A Ficci-Ernst & Young study pegged the clinical trials market as rising to $1.27 billion (Rs5,207 crore) worldwide in 2012 with profit margins of 20-25%

Read more in The Livemint article.

IFC to take 5.8 pc stake in Lanco subsidiary

International Finance Corp (IFC), the private sector arm of World Bank, will take 5.84 per cent stake in Lanco Infratech's subsidiary - Lanco Amarkantak Power Pvt Ltd - for $8 million (about Rs 32.5 crore).

IFC has signed an agreement with Lanco Amarkantak to subscribe to a stake of 5.84 per cent amounting to $8 million, Lanco Infratech informed Bombay Stock Exchange.
The total cost of the greenfield project at Korba in Chhattisgarh is expected to be Rs 2,631.8 crore (about 578 million dollars) and IFC is considering to invest up to $8 million in equity in the company, as per information available on the IFC website.
Lanco Amarkantak Power would construct and maintain a 600 MW coal-based power plant in Chhattisgarh.

Read more in The Economic Times article

Tata Power to raise Rs 14000cr to fund Mundra proj

Tata Power Company (TPC), the country's biggest private power utility, will raise up to Rs 14,000 crore in loans to fund the Rs 18,000 crore ultra mega power project at Mundra in coastal Gujarat.

The company has appointed SBI Caps as head arranger for the funds, S Ramakrishnan, the company's executive director (finance), said.The remaining Rs 4,000 crore would be funded by the company through internal resources.

Besides, the company is also in talks with Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) for raising a part of the Rs 14,000 crore.

The Tata group company is also considering the option of having the project part-funded by export credit agencies.

IFC aims over $500mn investment in India

With India emerging as one of the most preferred investment destinations globally, World Bank's private equity arm, International Finance Corporation, aims to cross $500 million mark in new investments by June.

During the fiscal, IFC invested over Rs 91.71 crore in a subsidiary of Moser Baer, a manufacturer of optical storage device, and infused about Rs 82 crore for assisting Kanoria Chemicals in its expansion plan.

It has also picked up 11.48 per cent stake in Granules India for around Rs 26 crore and has committed a $50 million loan to Orissa-based cement manufacturer OCL India Ltd.

IFC would also invest over Rs 101.37 crore to help expansion of the production capacity of electronic bikes marker Electrotherm India in Gujarat.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

IFC to invest Rs 91cr in Moser Baer

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private equity arm of the World Bank, will invest $22.5 million (Rs 91.71 crore) in Moser Baer Photo Voltaic (MBPV), a subsidiary of Moser Baer.

IFC would be investing the amount in an export oriented solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and module manufacturing facility, being set up by MBPV.The facility, which would have an installed capacity of 80MW, is estimated at $92 million including an initial outlay of $58 million, as per information available on the IFC website.

The said project site is located in a special economic zone, adjacent to Moser Baer's existing plant in an industrial estate in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.During the quarter ended March 31, IFC held over one crore shares, representing 9.76% in Moser Baer India.