VCCircle

--Media group Bennett, Coleman & Company (BCCL) has acquired an undisclosed stake in Hyderabad-based eYantra Industries, a corporate brand merchandising company. eYantra has long-term merchandising contracts with companies like Tech Mahindra, TCS, Accenture, Sasken, HCL, Genpact and ING Vysya Life Insurance Company. The company was started in 2001 by ex-PwC consultants. Phani Raj is the MD of the company.

--Unilever India Exports (UIEL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hindustan Lever, has sold Sangam - a non-store home delivery retail business - to Wadhawan Food Retail (WFRL). The value of the deal was not disclosed. The Sangam business was conceptualized in 2001 to experiment with the direct-to-consumer channel. But the idea is believed to have failed. WFRL runs a retail food & grocery store called Spinach in Mumbai. It has about 23 outlets in the city.

--India's Financial Technologies Group has sold 1 per cent stake in the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) for $12.5 million. The stake has been bought by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). FT now owns 49 per cent stake in DGCX.

--India's largest BPO, Genpact, has acquired the Dutch and Spanish entities of ICE Enterprise Solutions, a European SAP service provider. The financial terms are undisclosed. Avendus Advisors was the advisor to Genpact for the transaction. ICE specialises in the manufacturing, utilities, oil & gas, insurance, and financial services industries. Amit Singh, Assistant Vice President of Avendus said, “Some years ago there was a clear trend of IT companies diversifying into the BPO arena, this transaction however might signal a trend in the reverse direction." Genpact will get to provide technology solutions to its clients as part of a holistic solution.