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News Roundup: Future Group to acquire Nilgiris

By TEAM VCC

  • 14 Apr 2014

Future Group is set to take over southern supermarket chain Nilgiris for Rs 150-175 crore, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. It has in principle agreed to acquire the stake of private equity firm Actis Capital along with the minority shareholding of the promoters in a transaction that could give Kishore Biyani led Future the extensive footprint in southern India he's been looking for. The deal will be structured such that Future Group gains control of the 65% held by Actis and the holding of the Mudaliar family. In return, Actis will get a minority stake in Future Consumer Enterprise or FCEL, which runs the group's private brands business and grocery stores such as KB's Fair Price, Big Apple and Aadhaar, which will eventually put the total deal size at Rs 275-300 crore ($45 million - $50 million). (The Economic Times) 

Jaypee to sell assets worth Rs 10,000 crore to pare debt: Jaiprakash Associates Ltd intends to sell Rs 10,000 crore ($1.65 billion) worth of assets in 2014-15 to cut debt, after successfully divesting assets totalling Rs 15,000 crore ($2.48 billion) in the six months ended 31 March. The infrastructure firm wants to sell a cement factory, a thermal power plant, some of its real estate assets, and a part of its stake in the Yamuna Expressway, three people close to the development said on condition of anonymity. It is looking to exit its cement joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, and is in talks with Aditya Birla Group’s Ultratech Cement Ltd, said one of the people. Jaiprakash Associates holds 74% in the plant capable of producing 2.2 metric tonnes of cement every year. The Jaypee Group is also in talks with NTPC Ltd to sell one of its thermal plants in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. (Live Mint) 

IFC to raise global rupee bond offer size: After raising about $1 billion through rupee-denominated bonds from global markets, International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to raise the size of such offerings, to raise money to finance private sector investments in India. Another initiative would be to set up an IFC onshore programme to issue rupee bonds in the domestic market and to guarantee bonds issued by Indian companies. IFC, private sector investment arm of the World Bank group, hopes to build on the success of the $1-bn global rupee bond programme, particularly as India in 2013-14 accounted for $4.5 bn of IFC's committed investment portfolio, more than any other country.  (Business Standard) 

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Ravi Jaipuria joins race for Yum! stores in west, south: Billionaire bottler Ravi Jaipuria may consider bidding for the food retailing business of the Dubai-based Dodsal Group. Dodsal, which has the franchise for Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell stores in west and south India, has appointed investment bankers to look for potential buyers for the business. Jaipuria's Devyani International holds the three Yum! Brands franchises in north and east India. Yum! Brands has about 700 Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell stores in India, four in every five as a franchise. (Business Standard) 

PolicyBazaar.com to raise Rs 100 crore; plans to utilise proceeds for expansion, raising sales: Online insurance policy aggregator PolicyBazaar.com is in talks to raise up to Rs 100 crore ($16.5 million) in a fresh round of funding, as it looks to expand its services, triple its sales and build its technology platform. If successful, the transaction, which is expected to close by July this year, will be the third round of equity financing raised by the Gurgaon-based venture, having already raised close to Rs 90 crore across multiple rounds, since its inception. In April last year, the company raised Rs 25 crore from Kanwal Rekhi-led Inventus Capital Partners, with existing backers, Info Edge and Intel Capital also participating in the round. () 

Flipkart to buy rival Myntra, deal to be finalised soon: Flipkart could be weeks away from concluding a deal to buy rival Myntra as the two sides engage in last-minute haggling over valuation before concluding what will be the biggest transaction in India's online retail industry. People with knowledge of the talks said fashion portal Myntra is aiming for a valuation of $400 million (Rs 2,400 crore). Negotiators are considering a "target valuation" of $350 million, and may push the offer to $370 million, but there is "no possibility" of valuing Myntra at $400 million, according to a source with direct knowledge of talks. The timing of the transaction also takes into account an initial public offering of Flipkart's shares next year, most probably on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States, sources said. Flipkart, which raised $360 million in two rounds in 2013, was valued at around $1.6 billion in July last year. (The Economic Times) 

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Ex-chief in Whyte & Mackay race: The former boss of Whyte & Mackay is fronting a takeover bid for the 160-year-old Scotch whisky maker. John Beard, a veteran drinks industry executive, has teamed up with Lion Capital, the private equity firm, just six months after leaving Whyte & Mackay. A sale of the Glasgow-based company, which owns the Dalmore and Jura single malt brands and whisky liqueur Glayva, was ordered on competition grounds. The drinks giant Diageo acquired it last year as part of its swoop on India’s United Spirits but the UK Office of Fair Trading said Bell’s whisky, a Diageo label, and Whyte & Mackay’s own label and branded blended whisky will control too much of the market. Earlier, former Whyte & Mackay chief executive Vivian Imerman had expressed interest in buying the whisky assets back from Diageo. (Telegraph) 

Ratnakar Bank mulls Rs 1,000-crore public issue this fiscal: Kolhapur-headquartered Ratnakar Bank has drawn up plans to raise about Rs 1,000 crore ($165 million) through an initial public offer in the current financial year. According to Vishwavir Ahuja, MD and CEO, his bank has reached a tipping point, in terms of balance sheet size, profitability and number of branches, with all three parameters seeing robust growth in the last four years. Ahuja said, “We might do it (IPO) in this calendar year or latest in the fourth quarter of this financial year. (Business Line) 

Courtesy: VCCEdge

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