Dalmia Cement Sees $100M From Stake Sale In Unit - Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd expects to raise $100 million (Rs 462 crore) by March by selling a stake in its subsidiary, Dalmia Cement Ventures Ltd. The company is in talks with private equity players and expects to finalise the deal in this quarter. Reportedly, they were planning to sell up to 25% stake in the subsidiary. The company plans to used the proceeds in capacity expansion as part of its plan to add a total of 10 million tonnes in the next 2-4 years. The company has also tied up with banks for another Rs 325 crore. (ET)
PTC India Fin Eyes Listing In FY11 - PTC India Financial Services, a majority-owned unit of power trader PTC India, may go for a listing on the bourses in the next fiscal year. The quantum of money to be raised is yet to be decided in its board meeting. PTC Financial Services is 77.60% owned by PTC India, while the rest is equally held between Goldman Sachs Strategic Investments Ltd and Macquiry India Holdings Ltd. (Reuters)
L&T, EADS Revive JV Plans - India’s largest engineering company Larsen & Toubro and the Franco-German aerospace and defence group, EADS, are working on a new equity structure to revive their proposed joint venture which was earlier rejected by the government on the ground that it would exceed the 26% cap on foreign direct investment in the defence sector. L&T will now hold a 74% stake in the venture, which aims to tap the growing opportunities in India’s defence sector as well as those of other countries, leaving the remaining 26% stake to EADS. The proposed joint venture, which is critical to L&T’s ambitious plans for the defence sector, is expected to earn Rs 2,500 crore in revenues over the next five years. (ET)
Quippo Tele To Raise $4 Billion - Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Ltd (QTIL), a division of Quippo Infrastructure Equipment, an arm of Srei Infrastructure Finance, a leading non-banking financial institution, is planning to raise $4 billion through equity, debt and a combination of the two. The funds will be used to expand the tower business from 30,000 to 60,000 in the next two years. The company is looking at doubling its tower business, and it may go for both organic and inorganic expansion route. The company is also working on IPO options. (BS)
Vishal Lenders, Promoters Meet Next Week - The promoters and lenders of discount retail chain Vishal Retail will meet next week to sort out the differences over management changes and other modalities of the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process. Vishal went in for CDR in November last year. According to norms, the entire CDR process has to be completed within 120 days that it could not manage. Vishal, which runs a chain of 147 stores across the country, ran into difficulty in late 2008 after it failed to raise equity amid an economic downturn, which also hit its sales. It owes Rs 730 crore to banks such as State Bank of India, HDFC, HSBC and UCO Bank, and to Life Insurance Corporation, among others. (BS)
Citi To Hold On To HDFC Stake – Citi Bank, the country’s largest foreign lender, which recently offloaded its stake in commodity exchange MCX, has no intention of selling its stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). It currently holds a 11.68% stake in HDFC, the country’s largest mortgage financier, through its two subsidiaries, Citigroup Holdings Mauritius and Citigroup Strategic Holdings Mauritius. Globally, Citi had decided to offload a number of its non-core assets, choosing to focus on a much smaller portfolio. It may even exit certain countries where its presence is not substantial. (BS)
Ybrant Eyes Acquisition In US - Ybrant Digital, a Hyderabad-based provider of digital marketing solutions, is evaluating an acquisition opportunity in search marketing, affiliate marketing and content-based business space in the US. The company is also planning to go ahead with its initial public offering (IPO) by the middle of the next financial year (FY11). Ybrant, which had filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in September 2007, failed to come out with the IPO due to volatility in the market. Ybrant had raised $55 million (Rs 253 crore) so far from private equity players like New York-based Sansar Capital and GE Capital Asia-Pacific, and four hedge funds. (BS)
Sun Barred From Buying More In Taro - In a twist to the Sun Pharma-Taro acquisition battle, the Israeli Supreme Court has barred the Mumbai-based Sun from acquiring further stake in Taro. Taro said in a statement that the Supreme Court has ruled that Sun may not exercise a warrant to purchase additional Taro shares while a previously ordered temporary injunction remains in effect. Sun holds a 36% stake in the Israeli pharmaceutical company and has been aiming to take control since their $454 million acquisition deal of 2007 was unilaterally stopped by Taro in May 2008. (DNA)
Wockhardt Lenders Give Conditional Support To Unit Sale - The foreign lenders of pharmaceutical major Wockhardt said they would not object to proposed sale of its nutritional business to Abbott if the moneys received were to be put in a separate account till their case was pending in the High Court. Foreign lenders, including Barclays and Caylon, have filed petitions in Bombay High Court seeking winding up of Wockhardt. Reportedly, Citibank has also issued a winding-up notice to Wockhardt. (ET)
DB Realty Fixes IPO Price At Rs 468 Per Share - DB Realty, a Mumbai-based realty firm, has fixed the issue price of its initial pubic offer (IPO) at Rs 468 per share — the lower end of its price band. DB Realty’s the Rs 1,500-crore IPO, which closed on February 2, was subscribed nearly three times. The company plans to utilize the proceeds of the IPO towards new projects, pre-payment of loan and general corporate purposes. (BS)
Fortis Health May Raise Rs 1,000 Cr - Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd said on Friday its board will meet on February 10 to consider raising up to Rs 1,000 crore through issue of securities. (Reuters)
ADB Appoints Hun Kim As Country Director For India - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed a new Country Director for India. Hun Kim, a South Korean national, took over with effect from February 1. As Country Director for India, Kim's priorities will be to oversee and give direction to ADB's operations in India, ensuring that they align closely with the priorities and objectives of the government and ADB's own long-term development framework, Strategy 2020. His responsibilities also include promoting regional cooperation in South Asia, supporting public-private partnership initiatives of the government, and strengthening relationships with stakeholders and other development partners in India. (Business Line)
