PE firm eyes 49% in KC Securities

Gaja Capital Partners, an India-focused private equity firm, is in talks with the Mumbai-based Kaycee Group to pick up a 49% stake in Kantilal Chhaganlal (KC) Securities, according to a source familiar with the development.

The deal size for the the Mumbai-based broking house is pegged at roughly $40 million (around Rs 160 crore). Kantilal Chhaganlal Securities managing director Jayesh Sheth confirmed that he is in talks with more than one prospective
investor.

However, he refused to divulge more details.Gaja Capital Partners, too, refused to comment on the issue. Gaja has investments in companies Educomp and Vishal Retail.
Sources involved with the deal process said KC Securities had been in talks with a UK-based firm. However, the deal fell through as both parties could not reach an agreement over valuation.

KC Securities is a member of both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange. It has a 150-odd franchisee network and offers retail and institutional broking in equities, commodity broking, wealth management services and mutual fund distribution services among others. The company plans to foray into investment banking and services specifically targeted at NRIs.

Vishal Retail lists 75 pt above issue price

Vishal Retail shares on Wednesday listed at Rs 472.50 on the NSE against the issue price of Rs 270 per share and strengthened to over Rs 780.

At 10:17 am, the share was at Rs 753, up Rs 483 or 179 per cent over the issue price. It touched a high of Rs 784. Around 45,96, 463 shares were traded in the counter.

The share was at Rs 767 on the BSE, up Rs 497 or 184 per cent with volume at 17,33,279 shares. It touched a high of Rs 809 and low of Rs 423.25.

The company raised Rs 1.1 billion in its initial public offer last month, the proceeds of which will be used to expand its network of stores.

Vishal Retail currently has 50 stores and plans to open 22 more. It reported a net profit of Rs 249.83 million on revenue of over Rs 6 billion in the year ended Mar 31, 2007.

Vishal sells out, DLF awaits retail buyers

Vishal Retail Ltd’s initial public offering, which closed on Wednesday, was subscribed 68.06 times, according to data on the National Stock Exchange website. The Rs100 crore public offering from the retailer, which has annual sales of Rs603 crore, had been overshadowed this week by Rs9,625 crore public offering from the Delhi-based real estate developer DLF Ltd, which also opened on Monday.

DLF’s offer was subscribed 1.96 times by Wednesday evening. According to the exchange’s website, orders for 343.4 million shares were received against 175 million shares being sold. DLF’s issue, which has a price band of between Rs500 and Rs550 a share, closes Thursday.

Much of the demand for DLF shares is coming from institutional investors, or so called “qualified institutional buyers”, which include banks, mutual funds and overseas buyers. They have sought to buy 317% of the 104 million shares offered to them. Non-institutional buyers, which includes individuals with high net worth, have subscribed to 49% of the 17.4 million shares on offer to them.

The closely watched retail individual investor group has so far only subscribed to 20% of the 52 million shares set aside for them, though such investors typically wait until the last day, which is Thursday, to put in their bids. DLF’s own employees have also subscribed to 50% of the one million shares set aside for them.

Read more in The Livemint article.

Vishal Retail pegs share price range at Rs230-270 for IPO

Vishal Retail Ltd will price its shares between Rs230 and Rs270 a share and hopes to raise as much as Rs110 crore in an initial public offering (IPO) to fund its expansion plans to tap on the unprecedented growth of modern retailing in India.

Officials at the company that operates the Vishal Mega Mart stores, said the Registrar of Companies cleared its red herring prospectus on Tuesday and the company will list its stock on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in July. The issue will open on 11 June and close on 13 June.

That will coincide with India’s biggest share sale, that of DLF Ltd, the real estate developer that is issuing India’s largest IPO to date.The total number of Vishal shares sold will be determined by the price that investors pay, provided the company does not raise more than Rs110 crore.

Read more in The Livemint article.