Private equity investor India Value Fund Advisors is in advanced talks to buy the controlling stake of Avigo Capital Partners and Metmin Investments in financially strained casual-wear company Spykar Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. Avigo and Metmin jointly hold a 60% stake in Spykar. India Value Fund is “doing due diligence and has emerged as the final contender. Once the process is completed, it would take three to four weeks to close the deal, the person said. Spykar’s promoters, Prasad Pabrekar and Harshada Pabrekar, hold the remaining 40% stake in the company. In this round, the new investor could end up having stake of as much as 76%. The investors will exit and there could be a partial stake sale by the promoters. (Live Mint)
GAIL to raise INR 1,000 crore via bonds: GAIL plans to raise INR 1,000 crore ($179.17 million) through a domestic bond issue to partly meet its capital expenditure, even as the gas utility reported a 28% jump in its January-March quarter profit on the back of higher revenues from gas trading and petrochemicals as well as lower subsidy burden. GAIL would invest INR 7,500 crore (INR 1.3 billion) in the current fiscal, mostly in expanding its pipeline network. Of the planned capex for current year, about INR 3,500 crore ($627.11 million) would come from internal resources or accruals. For the rest, we plan to borrow INR 1,000 crore ($179.17 million) in the next quarter from rupee bond issue and another INR 1,500 crore ($268.76 million) through external commercial borrowings. (The Times Of India)
OVL plans to raise $3 billion for Kazakh acquisition: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), plans to raise at least $3 billion (INR 16,743 crore) in debt to part-fund acquisition of US energy giant ConocoPhillips' stake in a Kazazkhstan oilfield. The company may take a loan on $1.5 billion or $2 billion from its parent ONGC and the rest $3 billion through overseas debt. OVL in November last year agreed to buy ConocoPhillips' 8.4% stake in Kazakhstan's biggest oilfield, Kashagan, for $ 5 billion. The company raised $300 million (INR 1,674 crore) through a 5-year tenor unsecured bond and $500 million (INR 1,674 crore) through a 10-year Note. The 10-year bond bears fixed coupon of 3.756% per annum while the 5-year note will bear 2.574% per annum. (The Times Of India)
United Spirits may sell Scottish distiller Invergordon: United Spirits (USL) will consider selling Scottish grain whisky distillery Invergordon, which it acquired as part of the $1.18-billion Whyte & Mackay acquisition six years ago. The Office of Fair Trade in UK, which reviewed the recent Diageo takeover of USL, has flagged concern that the combined grain whisky distillation violates competition laws. Invergordon Distillers and Cameronbridge, the latter already owned by Diageo, are among the largest grain whisky plants in Scotland. Diageo also owns a 50% stake in North British Distillery, which has 60-million-litre capacity. But the UK regulator is unlikely to demand further sale of Whyte & Mackay assets to clear Diageo's $2-billion deal with USL. (The Times Of India)
Hindustan Petroleum eyes BP, Total as partner in Vizag project: State-run Hindustan Petroleum has approached global energy giants such as Total SA of France and British major BP to revive the stalled INR 50,000 crore ($8.95 billion) refinery-cum-petrochemical project at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh. The 15 million tonne a year refinery and a mega petrochem plant is planned to be built about 70 km away from the company's existing Vizag refinery. GAIL has expressed interest in taking stake in petrochemical plant, while for refinery, the firm have written to 13-14 global majors for participation. The company also approached Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation but they have yet to respond. (The Times Of India)
Micro Tech plans to raise INR 300 cr by selling stake in two units: Micro Technologies, provider of security and surveillance solutions, intends to raise over INR 300 crore ($53.75 million) by selling stake in two subsidiaries. The proceeds of the stake sale would be used to pare overall debt of INR 300 crore and unlock value in group companies. The company has initiated discussions with several private equity players to divest up to 35% stake in its majority owned units Micro Secure Solutions and Micro Retail. Micro Tech is also scouting for an independent consultant to value the entire bouquet of its products and services. (Business Line)
American Tower Corporation close to acquiring Tower Vision for INR 3,200 crores: American Tower Corporation is close to acquiring Tower Vision, a standalone telecom tower company owned by a group of international financial investors, for INR 3,200 crore ($573.35 million), a transaction that will enable the US company to significantly scale up its presence in India. Two people familiar with the developments said the deal, which has been in the works since the beginning of the year, is likely to close within 60 days. ATC is offering Rs 40 lakh per tower for 8,000 towers of Tower Vision that have been on the block since 2010. The valuation is marginally lower than the Rs 46 lakh per tower GTL Infrastructure paid for acquiring Aircel's tower business in January 2010. (The Economic Times)
India Plans to Sell More NHPC Stake: India plans to sell a 11.36% stake in state-run hydroelectric company NHPC Ltd., this fiscal year with a target to raise about 30 billion rupees ($538 million). The proposed public share sale is part of the government's plan to raise $7.3 billion by selling shares in state-run companies in the fiscal year that started April 1. Last year, the government fell about $1 billion short of its $5.4 billion revenue target from stake sales as it postponed some share offerings due to volatile market conditions. The power ministry is looking to get the proposal approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs as soon as possible. Currently, the government owns 86.36% stake in the company. (The Wall Street Journal)
SUUTI stake sale back on govt agenda: The finance ministry is mulling a partial sale of stakes held by the SUUTI, or the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India, in some companies. It will also take a relook at selling the rump shares in Balco and Hindustan Zinc. The SUUTI holds 23.58% stake in Axis Bank, 11.54% in ITC and over 8% in Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The defence ministry is believed to be against a stake sale in L&T as the company is involved in defence contracts. The sale of a large holding in ITC could see a change in the management of the tobacco-to-hotels giant. However, a stake sale in Axis Bank may not have a major impact on the ownership structure. The market value of SUUTI’s holding in these companies is believed to be INR 45,000 crore – INR 50,000 crore ($8 billion - $8.9 billion). (Telegraph India)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
