Bharti Airtel Ltd. could be looking at the option of raising up to INR 6,500 crore ($1.2 billion) by issuing two million fresh shares to investors abroad. The funds would be used to part-retire its INR 65,000 crore ($12.19 billion) consolidated debt and finance capital expenditure. The plans are still in a preliminary stage and the shares would be sold at a slight premium to the current market price. These could be placed with private equity firms and listed locally. The promoters currently own 68.5% stake in the company. With the issue of fresh equity, the promoter stake would come down marginally. Bharti was talking to Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank, among others, to manage the issue. The company will also have to sell shares in its tower arm, Bharti Infratel before June to meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India public-shareholding norm. (Business Standard)
Coal India to rope in more merchant bankers for asset buys: Amid allegations of poor quality of coal supplied and acute shortage of the commodity, Coal India is seeking overseas acquisitions with a sense of urgency. As a step in this direction, it has decided to induct more merchant bankers and invite expressions of interest from them on possible targets, besides extending the contract of existing merchant bankers. Eligible candidates will need to have completed two merger or acquisition deals worth $500 million successfully in the mining sector in the last three years. At present, the state-owned company has RBS, Bank of Canada and BofA-Merrill Lynch along with its Indian arm DSP Merrill Lynch on board as its merchant bankers. (The Economic Times)
ONGC's $5 bn Kazakh oil deal may fall through: Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) $5 billion (INR 26,647 crore) deal to acquire US energy giant ConocoPhillips' stake in a Kazakhstan oil field looks set to fall through as India hasn't been able to convince the Central Asian nation to approve the transaction. Kazakhstan is considering exercising its pre-emption rights to buy ConocoPhillips's 8.4% stake in the oil field. Sources said Kazakh government is ready to exercise an option to step in and buy ConocoPhillips stake in place of ONGC. Partners in Kashagan fields have been sounded out of brining one of China's state-run oil firm as a partner. Kazakh government has time till July to approve the transaction. ()
Jet Airways plans $300 million ECB to pare expensive debt: Jet Airways India Ltd. is looking to raise $300 million (INR 1,610 crore) through an external commercial borrowing (ECB) route and has initiated a process facilitated by Etihad, its new airline partner. Last week, both the airlines announced a strategic partnership in which Etihad bought a 24% stake in Jet for $379 million (INR 2,034 crore) in a pricey deal. The company would finalise the deal for $150 million (about INR 805 crore) over the next six to eight weeks, and then might look for another round of fund- raising from banks. ()
Rolta to raise $200 million through bonds: Engineering and geospatial services company Rolta is planning to raise $200 million (INR 1,065 crore) through issuance of overseas bonds in order to rejig its debt portfolio. The move would also help reduce the interest burden on the company. Rolta has debt of around INR 2,800 crore ($525.38 million). (Business Line)
iYogi revives plans to list on Nasdaq: Venture capital-funded iYogi, a tech support and helpdesk company which services consumers and small businesses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and the Gulf region, has revived its plans to raise $125 million (INR 666 crore) through a share sale and listing at Nasdaq over the next 12-24 months. Earlier in 2012, the Gurgaon-based firm had put on hold plans for a Nasdaq listing citing market conditions. Since inception in 2007, iYogi has raised $72 million through four rounds from a clutch of investors, including Sequoia Capital India, Canaan Partners, SVB India Capital Partners, SAP Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The funds would largely be deployed to enhance research and development activities, finance inorganic growth, marketing and expansion to new geographies. (Business Standard)
ChrysCap close to buying 10% stake in CavinKare for Rs 350 crore: Chennai-based consumer goods company CavinKare Pvt. Ltd. is set to conclude its private equity fund raising. According to sources in the know, PE major ChrysCapital is close to acquiring about 10% stake in the company for INR 350 crore ($65.67 million). CavinKare was in talks with various PE investors for the past year and ChrysCapital and Everstone Capital were engaged in the final stages of discussion. However, discussions with Everstone failed a month ago due to a valuation mismatch, sources said. The deal is likely to be announced in a couple of weeks. (Business Standard)
Courtesy: VCCEdge