DLF Assets to raise $1 bn from overseas listing

Billionaire real estate tycoon K P Singh, whose flagship firm DLF recently went public with India's largest IPO, is looking to list his another closely held group company DLF Assets with a one billion dollar issue.DLF Assets is expected to file for REIT (real estate investment trust) IPO in Singapore next month, the company sources said.

DLF Assets, which has been set up for holding completed commercial assets, is owned by DLF Ltd's promoters. It is independent of DLF Ltd. DAPL was set up for bidding along with other companies in potential assets sales by DLF Ltd.

DLF Assets Pvt Ltd (DAPL) had earlier received an investment of 400 million dollars and 200 million dollars from global investing firm D E Shaw and a fund sponsored by investment banking firm Lehman Brothers respectively.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

BSE buys 5% in Calcutta Stock Exchange

Bombay Stock Exchange has purchased a five per cent stake in the Calcutta Stock Exchange, based in Kolkata, for Rs 60 crore as part of the corporatisation of the regional exchange.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) bought the stake at Rs 2,000 a share, the exchange said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

The CSE has been valued at Rs 1200 crore based on the BSE purchase value. Calcutta Stock Exchange is the second stock exchange, after BSE, to sell stake to investors as part of the corporatisation plan for stock exchanges.Earlier this year, BSE completed the corporatisation process by selling 51 per cent stake to various investors including Singapore Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse.

Unitech to raise $2-3 bn overseas to fund projects, expansion

Unitech Ltd, the second largest real estate firm in India by market capitalization, is looking to float a Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) in an overseas market to raise $2-3 billion (about Rs8,000-12,000 crore) to meet its expansion plans.

Unitech and its investment arm will sell a stake in the six special purpose vehicles (SPV) that currently own six commercial properties to the Reit.
This trust could likely be listed in Singapore, though Hong Kong or the London Stock Exchange are also options, R. Nagaraju, general manager, corporate planning, Unitech, said.

The Reit will be listed in the later half of 2008, after a portion of the construction work in each of the various projects is completed.Reits, common in several developed countries, use money from investors to purchase and manage property. They are traded on major exchanges just like stocks. They are also granted special tax considerations and enable sharing in non-residential properties as well, such as hotels, malls, and other commercial or industrial properties that yield rental income. Much of the income from the properties owned by Reits is shared among its investors.

Unitech’s Reit will acquire a 60% stake in each of the six SPV’s created for the six commercial projects that Unitech is developing,. This stake is currently held by Unitech Corporate Parks Plc.

Read more in The Livemint article.

3i Infotech prices $100 mn FCCBs at Rs 331.87/share

3i Infotech Ltd has priced its foreign currency convertible bonds offering of $100 million at Rs 331.87 per share.

The zero coupon FCCBs are proposed to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and are convertible after five years, the company said in a notice to the BSE Tuesday.

At Rs 331.87 per share, the FCCBs are at a premium of 10% to the closing price on National Stock Exchange Monday (June 25). The FCCBs will be redeemable on expiry at a yield to maturity of 7.05%.

"3i Infotech is looking at achieving leadership position in the BFSI solutions space. Proceeds of this FCCB offering will be used to further fuel our expansion plans in the coming years," V Srinivasan, managing director and CEO was quoted as saying in the notice.