VCCircle Feeds

Temasek Sells 1.4% Of ICICI Bank For $300M

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:15:21 +0530

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek sold close to half of its stake in India’s second largest lender by the size of balance sheet (and second largest private bank by market value) for Rs 1,472 crore($300 million) through open market transactions on the stock exchange on Wednesday.

A large chunk of the shares were acquired by an investment arm of Goldman Sachs.

Top Picks From Techcircle.in

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:33:42 +0530

One Call India Seeks To Ease Pain Points Of Managing Home Appliances: Will Consumers Connect?

Online Cricket Game CricVille Hits Facebook, Courtesy Zapak

Microsoft Picks Stake In Sequoia-backed 24/7 Inc

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:57:26 +0530

Technology giant Microsoft Corp has acquired an undisclosed stake in 24/7 Inc (formerly 24/7 Customer) to offer an interactive customer service, the company disclosed in a statement.

Under the deal, Microsoft will merge its interactive self-service assets (clients, people and technologies) into 24/7 Inc and will have an R&D partnership besides long-term IP licensing. With this combination, 24/7 Inc. will be positioned to generate total revenues of more than $250 million annually by delivering solutions and services, Microsoft added.

Tulip Telecom Raises $51M In Mezzanine Funding

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:04:36 +0530

Tulip Telecom Ltd, an enterprise data services provider which is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has raised Rs 250 crore($51 million) through mezzanine funding from an unnamed financial institution, the company said on Wednesday.

Crisis Must Not Change India’s Course

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:34:09 +0530

What do the financial and economic crises of the high-income countries mean for emerging and developing countries? I addressed this in New Delhi last week, at a discussion sponsored by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) and the Financial Times. The conclusion I drew was that the crisis is dangerous. But this is not so much because of its direct effects. It is far more because of the lessons that might be drawn. The right lessons have to be drawn, not the wrong ones.

Batelco Sells Entire 42.7% In STel For $174.5M To Local Partner

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:44:37 +0530

Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) has struck a deal to sell its entire 42.7 per cent holding in STel Private Limited (STel), an Indian mobile operator, to its local joint venture partner Sky City Foundation Limited for $174.5 million, the company said on Wednesday. This makes it the first foreign investor to announce an exit from India after the country’s apex judiciary in a landmark judgement last week scrapped 122 telecoms licences as part of a corruption probe.

Thomas Cook Puts Indian Arm On Block, Stake Currently Valued At $178M

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:17:49 +0530

Travel services firm Thomas Cook Group plc said on Wednesday it has formally launched a sale process for its 77.1 per cent stake in the public listed India unit, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. At current market price the sale could fetch the British firm Rs 880 crore or $178 million, helping reduce debt on the balance sheet of the parent firm.

"Thomas Cook has received a number of unsolicited informal expressions of interest from third parties to acquire its stake in Thomas Cook India and, as a result, has decided to formalise the process," said a

ArthVeda Scripting Seven Real Estate & Infra Funds, Eyes $2B AUM

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:58:11 +0530

ArthVeda Fund Management has set the process rolling for four private equity funds in the real estate and infrastructure domain and is eyeing a total of seven funds with assets under management of around $2 billion by 2015, a top company executive told VCCircle.

ArthVeda is the real estate fund management venture of private housing finance company Dewan Housing Finance Ltd.

Gold Loan Firm Manappuram Bounces Back, Sequoia Ups Stake

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:26:46 +0530

The share price of gold loan retailer Manappuram Finance Ltd rebounded as the management clarified on the circular passed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warning it against accepting any public deposits. The company’s share price rose over 8 per cent on Wednesday on BSE after crashing 20 per cent the previous day.

The management has said that the RBI order will not have impact on the balance sheet and profit & loss statement of Manappuram Finance.

The share price of Manappuram closed at Rs 49.3, up by 8.35 per cent on the BSE on Wednesday.

Nadathur Holdings-backed Resolvity Enters Indian Cloud Telephony Mkt

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:13:03 +0530

Resolvity, Inc. a provider of on demand IVR and speech recognition in the USA has forayed into the Indian cloud telephony and IVR market with the launch of VoiceGain.

VoiceGain is a cloud telephony solution that allows Indian SMEs to store, manage and track telephone sales inquiries and leads. It also allows sales inquiries to be routed real time to their field sales personnel on their mobile phone. In addition to this, VoiceGain helps organisations to offer customer support with a virtual call centre technology infrastructure on a pay-per-use model.

The Best Picks: Announcing VCCircle Awards 2012 Final Four Nominations

bhawna — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:45:49 +0530

We are proud to announce the nominations for the debut VCCircle Awards 2012, which will recognise and celebrate the impact of private equity and venture capital on Indian businesses. These are the companies who have shown tremendous performance post-funding and are on way to achieve even greater heights. The final winners will be announced at the award ceremony to be held on the evening of February 14, 2012, at ITC Sheraton, Saket, New Delhi.

VCCEdge Monthly Deal Update - January 2012 – Order Now

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:05:13 +0530

VCCEdge has released its Monthly Deal Update for January 2012.

Highlights -

Private Equity:

- Private Equity investments in January’ 12 increased 26% to $684 million as compared to $541 million in January’ 11.

- Growth capital/late stage investments increased significantly from $429 million to $646 million.

- The Average deal amount increased from $14 million to $23 million.

- The Median deal amount remained unchanged between January’ 11 and January’ 12.

Car Sales Head For First Annual Fall In 10 Years

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:40:43 +0530

Annual car sales in India are likely to drop for the first time since 2002 in the fiscal year ending March after January sales fell short of expectations, an industry body said.

Car sales, which grew 30 per cent in the year ending March 2011, posted their first monthly fall in three years last July as high financing and running costs deterred buyers.

Indian Angel Network Invests In Digital Gaming Start-up Gamiana

bhawna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:25:11 +0530

Indian Angel Network (IAN) has invested approx $1 million in Gamiana Digital Gaming Pvt Ltd, a three year old Mumbai-based digital gaming start-up.

Gamiana or House of Games, derived from Games and Aashiana (house), is an online entertainment company and builds online communities with multiplayer games and social networks. In 2010, it launched the first product called Jamia Online, an online social game. Jamia is a free-to-play browser-based virtual world and social space where players can connect and interact with thousands of other people from all over the world.

Song Investment Appoints Kartik Srivatsa As New Advisor For India

bhawna — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:44:31 +0530

Hyderabad-based Song Investment Advisors has announced a leadership change with departure of founder and managing director Vishal Vasishth. Aspada Capital Advisors LLP, led by Song's current investment manager Kartik Srivatsa, will manage Song’s existing portfolio of investments.

When contacted by VCCircle, Vasishth said that he has no concrete plans now and is exploring various opportunities.