GMR Looking To Sell Stake In Karur Vysya Bank - Infrastructure major GMR Group is planning to sell its stake in the Tamil Nadu-based Karur Vysya Bank. The Bangalore-based group, with interests in airports, roads and energy, has begun talks with some private equity (PE) firms. Boutique advisory firm MAPE is believed to be the firm's advisor for the transaction. As on Thursday's closing price of Rs 412.55 on the BSE, GMR Group's 5% holding is valued at Rs 218 crore. It is learnt that the group is looking at selling its stake at Rs 450-500 a share. (Economic Times)
Kavveri Telecom To Consider European Buy - Kavveri Telecom, a maker of telecommunications products, says it will consider an acquisition in Europe at its board meeting on May 20. Earlier this week, the company had said it was in talks with private equity investors to raise between $8.94 million and $11.2 million by selling a stake in its infrastructure unit. The telecom products maker owns 51% of unit Kavveri Telecom Infrastructure, while the rest is held by the founding family. (Wall Street Journal)
Monnet Power Earmarks Rs 500Cr For Acquisitions - Monnet Ispat and Energy has earmarked about Rs 500 crore for acquisition of overseas mines this year for its power and metals businesses. The company is scouting for buys in Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique to secure raw materials for its steel and power businesses. The company also plans to invest up to Rs 5,000 crore on power projects and Rs 3,000 crore on steel units over the next 2-3 years. Monnet is also looking at entering the renewable energy sector by adding about 300 mw over the next three years through wind and hydel power-based generation. (Economic Times)
Wipro To Sell Vanaspati, Diaper Brands - Information technology-to-edible oil major Wipro, which derives 75% of its Rs 26,340 crore annual revenue from IT, has identified two consumer brands as non-core are Sunflower vanaspati and Wipro Baby Soft diapers. These are small businesses that together have around Rs 45 crore annual revenue. Wipro has similarly initiated a formal selloff process to find a buyer for its three-year-old water business, which they entered after acquiring water treatment firm Aquatech. Companies like Bunge (which owns Dalda vanaspati), KS Oils, Marico and even Jain Irrigation have in the past explored these two brands but the matter did not progress. (Business Standard)
Bajaj Raises Stake In Austrian Bike Maker - Bajaj Auto, India’s second-largest motorcycle maker, has raised its stake in Austria’s KTM Power Sports AG by 1.21 per cent to 39.3 per cent. Led by Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj, the Pune-based company has been consistently buying KTM shares from the open market. Since 2007, when it acquired a 14.5 per cent stake, Bajaj has spent more than Rs 1,000 crore to become the second-largest shareholder in the Vienna Stock Exchange-listed company. Bajaj's 39.3 per cent stake, or 3.97 million shares, in KTM is valued at close to Rs 1,400 crore. (Business Standard)
IndiaFirst Life To Go For Rs 120Cr Capital Infusion - IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and UK-based Legal & General, would go for a capital infusion of around Rs 120 crore during the current fiscal. So far, it has infused Rs 430 crore in two phases, the first of Rs 300 crore and later Rs 130 crore. Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank hold 44 per cent and 30 per cent of the company’s stake, respectively, while UK-based risk, wealth and investment company Legal & General has 26 per cent stake. (Business Standard)
SingTel Net Falls On Bharti Loss - Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), which has a stake in Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, has posted a 2.3% fall in net profit to S$992 million due to the loss incurred by Bharti Airtel and currency volatility. At the end of December, SingTel owned a 15.72% stake in Bharti Airtel directly through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Pastel (15.57 per cent) and Viridian Ltd (0.15 per cent), while the rest was held indirectly by the parent company. (Business Line)
Tata MF's Chaturvedi Joins L&T - Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, who stepped down as managing director of Tata Mutual Fund a few months ago, is all set to head L&T Finance Holdings , the financial services business of engineering and infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro. Chaturvedi will head the group's capital market business which includes the mutual fund, equity capital market, product distribution and stock broking verticals. Chaturvedi, with around 17 years of experience in the asset management business, quit Tata Mutual Fund last September, after more than seven years at the helm. (Economic Times)
