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News Roundup: DLF to Sell Assets to Beat Real Estate Slowdown

By TEAM VCC

  • 02 Feb 2009

Nirula’s Up For sale Again - Malaysian buyout fund Navis Capital Partners that owns a majority stake in Nirula’s has put the Delhi-based fast-food chain up for sale again. NM Rothschild has been appointed to advise it on a possible sale. According to sources, the owners of Nirulas are expecting to sell it for Rs 300 crore. reports also suggest that Dabur, Indian Hospitality (IHC), Thapar Group and a Dubai-based fund are also exploring the option to buy the 75-year-old restaurant chain. (The Economic Times)

Namdhari Fresh to Get Rs 40 Crore PE Investment - Namdhari Fresh, a Bangalore based organic food retailer and wholesale distributor of vegetables and fruits is looking for a private equity investment of up top Rs 40 crore. UTI Ventures, IL&FS and SIDBI Ventures are in fray to invest Namdhari Fresh, according to sources. The investment is expected to be ploughed into rolling out the retailers national network. Namdhari fresh has a retail footprint of 20 outlets in Bangalore and two in Delhii. The company had recently announced plans of southern expansion into Chennai and Hyderabad. (The Economic Times)

DLF to Sell Assets to Beat Real Estate Slowdown - India’s largest property firm DLF, is planning to sell it assets to beat the slump in the ral estate sector. DLF will also stop sale of assets to promoter group company DLF Assets (DAL) in the short term, as demand for leased office space has shrunk and receivables from DAL have risen dramatically. The company will focus on unlocking non-strategic assets with no medium-term utility. It would also now focus on liquidity and cash flows rather than growth in short and medium term. (The Economic Times)

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RPG to Tap PE to Partly Fund Its Rs 2,000 Crore Expansion - The RPG Group may tap private equity to fund the expansion of its Spencer's retail business.  Rs 2,000-crore is to be pumped into the business over the next two-years. The group will focus on large-format stores and strategic tie-ups. While much of the capital would be generated through internal accruals, part of the funds would be raised through private equity. However, the company will tap the private equity route only after the markets stabilise to get better valuations. (The Economic Times)

Elara to Facilitate Investments in India Through Singapore Subsidiary - Elara Capital (Singapore), plans to facilitate investments in Indian companies from Singapore and neighbouring regions which have a large investor base with surplus funds. The investments will be facilitated across sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, services and consumer products. Elara Capital (Singapore) is a recently set up subsidiary of UK-based Elara Capital which is a full-service investment bank. (The Economic Times)

Seven Companies in Race to Buy Stake in DPSC - Seven Companies have shown interest in buying out the stakes of the stake of Andrew Yule, United India Insurance and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in DPSC (formerly Dishergarh Power). The seven companies include Reliance Infrastructure, JSW Energy, CESC, Coal India, Patton International, Srei Infrastructure and Jessop & Co.  while Andrew Yule holds 7.12%, United India Insurance and LIC hold 11.36% and 30.61% respectively. All seven companies participated in a pre-bid conference on Friday over the legal implications of the terms of the share purchase agreement put forth by Andrew Yule and the insurance companies. Interested parties will have to submit their bids by February 10, which will then be evaluated by noted international consultants Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Andrew Yule has appointed Mumbai-based law firm Amarchand Mangaldas to go into the legal aspects of the bids. (The Economic Times)

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Nissan–Renault Alliance Looks for a Third Partner for Chennai Project - The Nissan - Renault alliance is planning to induct a third partner into $1.1-billion (Rs 4,500 crore) Chennai factory project. the factory project is expected to manufacture cars and SUVs by 2010. Till last year, it was a three way joint venture. However, Mahindra and Mahindra pulled out of the JV early last year citing lack of synergy. The Chennai factory project is a 50:50  joint venture between Nissan and Renault. While Renault is going slow on plans to manufacture its new caers at the Chennai factory, Nissan’s India strategy is still on track. At the Chennai plant, Nissan will produce a family of models based on its new A-platform, including the next generation small car, Micra. (The Economic Times)

IRB Raises Rs 2,500 Crore for Surat-Dahisar Road Project - Construction firm IRB Infrastructure Developers has raised Rs 1,956 core debt and another Rs 544 crore in equity for its Surat-Dahisar six-lane road project. European financial institution, Deutsche Bank has picked up a 10% stake in the project, while IRB Infrastructure holds the remaining 90%. The project has a debt-equity ratio of 70:30 and the total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 2,835 crore. The remaining Rs 335 crore will be invested through internal accruals. IRB, which is focusing mainly on road infrastructure, has raised Rs 1,956 crore from Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Indian Bank and Andhra Bank. (The Economic Times)

Hinduja’s to Tie UP Funds for Visakhapatnam Power Project  - Global conglomerate of the Hindujas expects to tie up financial sources for its much awaited Indian power project at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh by October this year. The mega project, which was stranded for a long time, would have the capacity between 1040 MW and 1200 MW. The exact size would be determined by the Engineering-Procurement- Construction (EPC) contractors. The project is estimated to cost Rs 4,800 crore. (The Economic Times)

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Binani Cement to Gain Entire Beneficiary Interest in Dubai Subsidiary - Binani Cement has begun discussions with majority shareholders to gain the entire beneficiary interest in its Dubai subsidiary. Binani Cement holds 49% stake in Binani Cement Factory LLC while the rest is held by the local people in Dubai. The Dubai plant has a current capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) which the company plans to increase to 2 mtpa by March 2010. The cost of acquiring the remaining stake is expected to be in the range of $70-75 million. (The Economic Times)

IOB enters JV with BOB and Andhra Bank to enter Malaysia - Chennai based public sector bank Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) will join hands with Bank of Baroda (BoB)and Andhra Bank to start operations in Malayasia. The new joint venture is expected to commence operations by the end of 2009. The bank has also got the Reserve Bank of India’s nod to go ahead with the acquisition of Pune-based Shree Suvarna Sahakari Bank. IOB wanted to enter the Malaysian markets and decided to partner with other banks as according to the Malaysian government norms, a bank is required to have a minimum capital of $100 million. (Business Standard)

Thai Company Picks Stake in Avanti Feeds - Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) has acquired 14.99 per cent shares of Avanti Feeds Ltd (AFL). Both the firms are engaged in the shrimp business. The move is to support AFL, which is in the shrimp/fish feed manufacturing and export business,  to expand its activities in India as a strategic partner. Thai Union Group, a listed entity, is the largest seafood exporter outside Japan with consolidated sales of over $2 billion. TUF would extend technical and marketing support and share its expertise in shrimp culture with AFL for all-round growth of AFL. (Business Line)

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