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The Reliance Industries group (Mukesh Ambani) is setting up a private equity fund with a corpus of $111 million (Rs 500 crore). It will invest in the retail and real estate sectors. The fund is likely to be called Skill, reports The Economic Times. It may be headed by Mukesh Ambani's close aide Anand Jain. The fund is likely to be open for investments by outside investors as well as RIL promoters and associates.

Sahad: Pantaloon is another retail business group which has floated two private equity funds - Kshitij and Horizon - to invest in retail and real estate projects. Pantaloon is also one of the investors in Indivision, a private equity fund that will invest across mid-market companies.

Go to article in The Economic Times.

Here is a story on a lesser know fund called Trikona Capital Group, which plans to invest in Indian real estate in a big way. The US-based fund, started by two India-born entrepreneurs, would plough in at least $1 billion through two funds launched in the US and UK, according to DNA.

Trikona, which has offices in New York and London, had recently raised

Construction is getting hotter. Hyderabad-based B Seenaiah & Company (Projects) Ltd (BSCPL), a construction company specialising in highway and irrigation projects, have received Rs 150 crore in private equity from New Vernon Private Equity Ltd, and from a group led by Tiger Veda Management and Touradji Capital Management. The PE firms have picked up 19 per cent. Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IDFC) acted as exclusive financial advisor to BSCPL for the investment. [Via Sify]

The Economic Times reports that the company is likely to go in for another round of investment from firms like Goldman Sachs, ahead of an IPO scheduled for the last quarter of 2006. BSCPL has an order book worth Rs 2,000 crore in the road sector and Rs 615 crore in irrigation. It's also forayed into real estate.

Other PE deals in construction

UTI Venture Fund Invests In Chennai Construction Company

ICICI Venture Picks Up 7.5% In Action Construction Equipment

Construction Companies Next Target For Private Equity Firms

JP Morgan, India Development Fund Pick Up 21.6% In L&T Infrastructure Arm

Private equity firm UTI Venture Fund and a Middle East investor have together invested about Rs 120 crore in the Chennai-based construction services company, Consolidated Construction Consortium (CCCL). It's a combination of fresh equity and picking up of a minority stake of the promoters.

The Rs 400-crore CCCL was launched about a decade ago by a group of professionals associated earlier with Larsen & Toubro. It has offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi, and recently set up an office in the Middle East. “Its an unique construction services company and we see a good growth opportunity. It may well be another L&T in the making,” KEC Raja Kumar, CEO & MD, UTI Venture Funds, said. [Via The Economic Times]

India's leading consumer products company Dabur India is looking to acquire companies or brands overseas. The New Delhi-based maker of juices, cooking pastes and personal care products, is targeting small or mid-sized brands or businesses in south Asia, the Gulf region, North or West Africa.

The revenues of the target companies could be in the range of Rs 20-50 crore ($5-10 million), its CEO Sunil Duggal told Reuters. "We are pretty aggressively seeking an acquisition, and we have demonstrated with the Balsara acquisition that we have the ability to handle one," he said, referring to a 1.43-billion-rupee deal in 2005 to acquire brands like Promise toothpaste and Sanifresh cleaner. Dabur has revenues of $300 million in 2005, and it intends to double that by 09-10. [Via Moneycontrol.com]

The Hindu Business Line reports that the company is "in the process of conducting due diligence to acquire a vitamins or supplements company in the US, FMCG brands in Egypt and Malaysia. In India too, Dabur is in advanced talks to acquire an FMCG firm operating in the herbal/ayurvedic domain. Dabur has earmarked some Rs 500 crore ($111 million) for making these acquisitions.

It's kind of a coup for Indiabulls Financial Services to strike a real estate partnership with DLF Group. They have formed a 50:50 joint venture called Kenneth Builders & Developers to develop residential and commercial properties across India. The JV has already bagged 35.8 acres of land from Delhi Development Authority (DDA) through a competitive bidding process for Rs 450 crore ($100 million). DDA had called for bids to develop residential projects under its public-private partnership project.

Indiabulls is an upstart in in the real estate business. In the last one year, it had acquired two mills in Mumbai through bidding for a total of Rs 700 crore ($155 million) or so. DLF group is India's largest and high quality real estate construction group. The JV gives Indiabulls one leg up. [Via The Economic Times]

Sending a tough message to the market participants, India's market regulator Securities And Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned 24 operators including brokers, banks and depository participants from the stock markets for their involvement in the IPO scam. The brokers banned include biggies like Indiabulls and Karvy Stock Broking. Twelve depository participants (DP) have been banned from opening fresh accounts. It has also banned 85 financiers from capital market activities.

Releasing a 256-page interim order, SEBI said all those involved in the scam would be prosecuted. It investigated the abusive practices in 105 IPOs (including that of Maruti and Suzlon) floated between 2003 and 2005. The interim order is in the nature of show cause notices and the parties can file their objections within 15 days with Sebi.

The background of the scam is that some market participants had allegedly connived with certain investors who violated the law by applying for IPOs using multiple demat accounts to corner higher allocation.

Go to article in Business Standard

Go to article in The Economic Times

Megasoft, an IP-driven technology solutions company in the telecom and life sciences space, is close to acquiring a US-based telecom software company, reports The Economic Times. Megasoft is also simultaneously looking for an acquisition in India to strengthen its back-office operations. “We are in the final stages of negotiations with a US company and a deal is likely in the next three months,” Megasoft CEO GV Kumar said. The targeted company has revenues of around $10-20 million. In India, the company is looking at acquiring a services firm with 300-400 employees.

Hinduja TMT, a minority shareholder in Hutchison Essar, a leading Indian telco, is believed to be exiting the company pre-IPO. Hutchison Whampoa, a major shareholder in Hutch, is said to have offered to buy the Hinduja group’s 5.11 per cent stake Hutch for $400 million, reports The Economic Times. It has also offered a gain of up to $50 million upon listing of the Indian entity. A value of $400m for a 5 per cent stake would mean a valuation of $8 billion for Hutchison Essar.

However, the report says that the Hindujas are not willing to accept the offer as it stands. The Hindujas feel that the offer is less than the $11.3 billion valuation offered by Egyptian conglomerate Orascom. Meanwhile, Essar, the the major Indian shareholder in Hutch, is also believed to be interested in hiking the stake. They are also said to be talking to Hinduja TMT. [Via The Economic Times]

D E Shaw, the world's second-largest hedge fund, is entering India. DE Shaw has roped in Anil Chawla, chief executive officer - commercial finance, India & South East Asia, GE. Chawla will join the fund in June as the country head. He will be responsible for setting up offices and recruiting people.

According to a US hedge fund industry publication Absolute Return, in 2005, Westport-based Bridgewater Associates topped the list of hedge funds with $17.7 billion in assets, followed by DE Shaw with $17.1 billion. It will invest in private equity as well as distressed assets in India. [Via Business Standard]