Posts for: October, 2006

Actis Exits Glenmark Pharmaceuticals

10/31/06, 4:41 PM

Another private equity fund exit is here. Actis has sold its existing 6.7 per cent stake in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals for Rs 304 crore to HSBC Global Investment Fund. The deal has been struck at Rs 380 a share.
Actis invested ($10.2 million) in the company in 2002. In September ’03, it held a total stake of [...]

“Startups Talk Of $250K Gap, But VCs Shove Millions Down”

10/31/06, 4:15 PM

Singapore-based Upstream Ventures is launching a new $80 million Pan Asia fund that will invest in early stage ventures in in India, Singapore and China. It intends to fill the gap for early stage funding in sectors such as Internet, new media, wireless and telecommunications; IT software and solutions; and semiconductors in these geographies. The [...]

Lehman Brothers Appoints Surojit Shome As Investment Banking Head In India

10/31/06, 2:35 PM

US investment banking firm Lehman Brothers has started hiring in India. It has appointed Surojit Shome as head of its investment banking division. Shome is currently the MD and corporate banking head, India and sub-continent, for Citigroup. He will now be the MD and head of investment banking, India, for Lehman. He will report to [...]

Citigroup Makes Partial Exit From Suzlon To Make Rs 801 Cr; Unsold Holding Worth Rs 1,800 Cr

10/31/06, 11:53 AM

This is one huge exit in the recent times. Citigroup Venture Capital International, the private equity arm of Citigroup, has sold a part of its holding in Suzlon Energy for Rs 801 crore ($178 million), reports The Economic Times. This includes Rs 185 crore ($41 million) it realised during the IPO of Suzlon Energy in [...]

Warburg Pincus Raises A $1.2 Billion Global Real Estate Fund

10/31/06, 8:45 AM

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has raised a $1.2 billion global real estate fund. The fund will be called Warburg Pincus Real Estate I, L.P. and will invest in real estate opportunities worldwide. So we can expect some investments in India too.
The fund has investors like state pension funds, and college endowments. New York-based Warburg [...]

Naukri IPO Opens Today; Gets Oversubscribed 3.34 Times

10/30/06, 11:08 PM

Naukri.com CEO Sanjeev Bikhchandani can smile now. The IPO of Info Edge (India) Ltd, the owners of jobs portal Naukri.com, opened today. The first day has been pretty good from the institutional point of view. The issue has been oversubscribed 3.34 times which is mainly contributed by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). The participation of retail [...]

Sequoia Capital India Invests $12 Million In Paras Pharma

10/30/06, 7:13 PM

Leading venture capital fund Sequoia Capital India has invested $12 million in Paras Pharmaceuticals, a leading OTC and personal care company. Paras based in Ahmedabad, has a portfolio of 15 brands, including Moov and D’cold which are among the Top 10 Indian OTC brands. Actis recently invested $42 million in Paras.
In a statement issued today, [...]

Cap Gemini-Kanbay Deal To Spur More IT M&As In India

10/30/06, 6:57 PM

Last week French IT consulting company Cap Gemini acquired Kanbay International Inc. for $1.25 billion. This had doubled Cap Gemini’s staff in India which will help win more contracts. Illinois-based Kanbay employs most of its 6,500 employees in India. The purchase will help Cap Gemini capitalize on a trend of financial industry jobs from accounting [...]

Rajeev Chandrasekhar Acquires 51% In Asianet Communications

10/30/06, 6:46 PM

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the former owner of BPL Mobile, has acquired 51 per cent stake in Malayalam TV network Asianet Communications. Chandrasekhar sold BPL Mobile , a telecom company with cellular services in four circles like Mumbai, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, to Essar last year for $1 billion. Chandrasekhar made Rs 1450 crore from [...]

ICICI Venture, Kotak SEAF India Fund Invest Rs 120 Crore In Pantaloon’s Home Solutions

10/30/06, 1:07 PM

ICICI Venture Funds Management and Kotak SEAF India Fund have together invested over Rs 120 crore ($26.6 million) in Home Solutions Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail. ICICI Venture will pick up about 15 per cent stake in Home Solutions, while Kotak SEAF will take a 6 per cent stake in the company. Pantaloon [...]

Reliance Capital To Venture Into Asset Reconstruction Business; In Talks With Foreign Funds

10/30/06, 12:37 PM

Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital is setting up an asset reconstruction business. The company is expected to file for the ARC licence with the Reserve Bank of India next month. Foreign funds like JP Morgan, George Soros, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are in talks with Reliance ARC for picking up a stake. It already [...]

Kopran Selling Majority Stake?

10/28/06, 5:44 PM

Here is a slightly speculative report on Kopran Ltd, an Indian pharmaceutical firm. According to the Hindu Business Line, a Jordanian company called Hikma Pharmaceuticals is in talks with Kopran for acquiring a majority stake in the latter. Kopran is believed to have appointed Enam as advisor. Yes Bank is said to be advising Hikma.
Read [...]

Four Funds Pick Up 25% In Idea Cellular

10/28/06, 5:29 PM

So there are at least four private equity funds who have picked up stake in Idea Cellular. According to a Times of India report, four PE funds have picked up close to 25 per cent stake in Pune-based telecom company. The report says the total money raised would be $550 million.
Providence has announced that it [...]

Wipro Infotech Acquires 3D Networks For $23 Million

10/28/06, 11:07 AM

Wipro continues to make acquisitions. Wipro Infotech, the IT Business Unit of Wipro Ltd, has acquired India, Middle East and SAARC operations of 3D Networks and Planet PSG in an all cash deal. The consideration includes an upfront cash payment of approximately $23 million. This includes additional performance linked payments based on achieving agreed financial [...]

Canaan Partners And TiE To Organise “Entrepreneurial Challenge”

10/28/06, 10:58 AM

Alok Mittal of Canaan Partners informs that they - in association with TiE, INSEAD and Evalueserve - is organising “Entrepreneurial Challenge”. It’s a sort of business plan competition for startups and early stage businesses who are looking to scale up to the next level. The winners will be mentored, and also sent to the INSEAD [...]

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