Genpact in Fray For WNS - India’s largest pure-play BPO firm Genpact has joined the race for acquiring Warburg Pincus’ 50% stake in WNS Global Services. Others in the race for the BPO include private equity (PE) investors such as Blackstone and Bain Capital. Merrill Lynch is said to be advising Warburg and is selectively approaching IT and BPO firms and PE players. (Economic Times)
United Spirits in Talks For $300 Mn Fundraising - Vijay Mallya's United Spirits Ltd (USL) has started talks with more than half-a-dozen PE players to raise over $300 million to deleverage its balance sheet. Private equity majors like Texas Pacific Group (TPG), Temasek Holdings, Blackstone, KKR, Capital International are said to be in the race. USL has debt of around Rs 6,500 crore. (DNA)
SUUTI To Sell Arsec Stake - Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) is considering a stake sale in Asset Reconstruction Company (Arsec) since its other existing shareholders have showed interest in increasing their stake. SUUTI holds around 37% stake in Arsec, while other shareholders include Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank, Andhra Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Deutsche Bank and IL&FS. (ET)
Sequoia Capital Does A Google - Silicon Valley's top venture capital investor Sequoia has redesigned its website to a simple search engine. Sequoia has backed companies like Google, Apple, Cisco, Oracle etc. The firm has an active India arm which manages around $1.8 billion across various funds. The earlier Sequoia website homepage showed the successful entrepreneurs that the VC firm had backed. (VentureBeat)
Unitech Wireless Raises Rs 5000 Cr From SBI - Unitech Wireless has secured a Rs 5,000-crore loan from State Bank of India (SBI). The company will use the loan to finance the rollout of its operations in the country. The company had earlier secured a loan from a consortium of banks comprising Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India and Vijaya Bank. Norway based Telenor Group, which holds a 49% stake in Unitech Wireless and had already invested Rs 2,620 crore, is also planning to make an additional payment of Rs 6,120 crore to increase its stake in the company to 67.25%. (BS)
Regulators Suggest IAG To Avoid Mauritius Route - The government and financial sector regulators have prevailed on Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to route its investment in a general insurance venture with State Bank of India through Singapore, instead of the original proposal to bring the money through a Mauritian subsidiary. The investment through Singapore would make IAG eligible for tax benefits, under India’s Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with the city-state. IAG’s investment in the joint venture, in which it would hold 26% stake, is estimated at Rs 540 crore, including an entry premium. The JV can take the advantage of more than 15,000 SBI branches across the country to distribute its non-life products. ()
Satyam To Sack Chunk Of Seniors - Fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services turned Mahindra Satyam has planned to sack around 900 senior employees in the rank of general managers, senior managers, assistant vice-presidents and vice-presidents in the company. As part of the plan, the company initially offered four months basic and an experience certificate for those who are ready to quit voluntarily. Mahindra Satyam currently has about 1,500 officials in these categories, of which about 600 have been given new roles as part of organisational restructuring. (DNA)
Govt To Divest Stake In 6-7 Cos – After NHPC success, the government of India plans to offload equity in atleast seven state-owned companies in the next one year. The first company on the line is Oil India Ltd (OIL), which is slated to hit the market in September. Among other PSUs which are firming up to hit the capital markets include mineral major NMDC and Coal India Ltd. The government has also identified some public sector undertakings and has planned for divestment in the next 10 to 12 months. (ET)
Nimesh Kampani Seeks Bail In Andhra HC - JM Financial Chairman Nimesh Kampani sought anticipatory bail in the Andhra Pradesh High Court for the second time after a Supreme Court bench had dismissed his bail plea on May 4 earlier this year. He has been named as one of the accused in the multi-crore Nagarjuna Finance (NFL) case. NFL had failed to return the deposits it had collected from thousands of depositors amounting to about Rs 100 crore. Kampani was an independent director on the board of NFL till 1998, after which the company had landed in major asset-liability mismatch. (DNA)
