Honda, Hero To End Morcycle JV - Honda Motor Co. reached a basic agreement this week to dissolve its partnership in India's Hero Honda Motors Ltd. Honda will focus its resources on wholly owned subsidiary Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt (HMSI). Honda and its Indian partner Hero Group will seek approval for the breakup from their respective boards of directors later this month. The Japanese automaker could reap up to around $1.20 billion from the sale of its shares in Hero Honda Motors. (Reuters)
Mukesh Ambani Puts $200-250M To Set Up PE Fund - Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has contributed $200-250 million (Rs.902-1,127.5 crore) in proprietary funding to jump start investments for private equity venture. Ambani has appointed Vivek Gupta, former managing director of consulting firm AT Kearney in India, to lead the venture. The investment committee includes Ambani, scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar and key RIL executive Manoj Modi
Ex-StanC Butalia, Panandiker Set Up $500M Fund - Karamjit Butalia, a former Standard Chartered honcho, is a $500 million private equity fund KV Asia Capital that will invest in India as well as other South East Asian markets starting 2011. Butalia will be the chairman, along with Vibhav Panandiker, who quit as managing director of JP Morgan's South East Asian PE business earlier this year. (Times of India)
Axis Bank PE Stake Sale Hit Road Block - Axis Bank, which recently acquired Enam Securities, hasn’t reached anywhere near an exit from its private equity business. The deal stuck primarily owing to disagreement among the investors or the limited partners. A decision to spin off the private equity business was taken citing its non-strategic nature compared with the banking operations after Shikha Sharma took over last year. Aditya Birla PE, Edelweiss Capital and Darby Private Equity are among the contendors for the business. (DNA)
Sequoia Invests $35M In Star Health - Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India has invested $35 million for a 25% stake in in leading health insurance firm Star Health and Allied Insurance Company. Star Health had earlier raised $27 million from ICICI Venture. The insurance company is promoted by shareholders of the Middle East based ETA Ascon group (with interests in engineering, shipping, real estate and financial services) and Oman Insurance Company (subsidiary of the UAE based Mashreq Bank with total assets of $25 billion).
KIADB Buys Land From ArcelorMittal - Karnataka Industries Area Development Board (KIADB) has acquired 4865.64 acres for ArcelorMittal in Kuduthini and Hargindoni villages in Bellary district. The State Government has disbursed Rs 19.71 crore as compensation to the farmers whose land had been acquired. (HinduBusinessLine)
Sathguru Sets Up $300M Venture Fund - Sathguru Management Consultants, which has clients across 20 countries, is setting up a venture fund with an initial corpus of $300 million to provide risk financing for technology transfer ventures in the realms of agriculture, health care, life sciences, energy and green technology. Sathguru will be dispersing $20 million in the first tranche and the remaining $80 million within six months after that. (HBL)
IPL Gives Kochi Franchise Go Ahead - The Kochi franchisee will be part of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with the IPL Governing Council accepting the team's new ownership pattern. The fourth season of the IPL gets under way on April 8, 2011. (Hindu)
Opto Circuits Takes 76% In Us Co - Bangalore-based healthcare equipment company Opto Circuits (India) Ltd has acquired around 76% of the outstanding common shares of US-based Cardiac Science Corporation as part of its acquisition plans. Earlier, the company had agreed to acquire Cardiac Science Corporation for $64 million. (Business Standard)
Concerns On Honda, Hero Deal - As the final draft of separation between the Hero Group and Honda Motor Company gets readied, concerns are being raised on the Indian company's ability to promote and sell its indigenous products in the long term in addition to the royalty payouts to the Japanese company. Hero Group has won rights on Honda's products till the end of the term of the technical agreement, in 2014. (BS)
