Jacob Ballas In Talks To Invest In Karaikal Port - Karaikal Port Private Limited, a subsidiary of Chennai-headquartered Marg Limited, is close to roping in third major private equity player. Jacob Ballas Capital, a major private equity fund, which is investing from its third fund of $440 million, is understood to be one of the funds which is looking closely at the project. Marg Karaikal Port has so far raised around Rs 350 crore from IDFC Project Equity and Ascent Capital.MARG Karaikal Port is a deep water, all weather port on the South East coast of India. (Business Standard)
Global Majors Eye Gujarat Gas Stake - The race to acquire BG India's 65% stake in the Gujarat Gas Company Ltd (GGCL) has all the makings of an epic corporate battle as foreign energy firms and international private equity players have thrown their hat in the ring to compete with state firms - Adani group and Torrent. French and German energy majors AlectricitA de France and E.ON and two US- and UK-based PE firms have submitted non-binding bids for BG's 65% stake in Gujarat Gas. (Economic Times)
Oil India Considers Bid For Cove Energy - Oil India Ltd, India’s second- biggest state-owned energy explorer, is considering a possible purchase of Cove Energy Plc, which has assets in east Africa. Oil India is studying documents related to the U.K. company that put itself up for sale last week. Bids for London-based Cove may exceed $1.2 billion. Cove has a market value of 620 million pounds ($950 million). Cove is part-owner of a field in Mozambique that may hold enough gas to be converted into liquid form. (Economic Times)
Cellcast Asia Sell Majority Stake To PEs - UK-based Cellcast PLC, a leading provider of participatory television programming and interactive telephony technology for the fast growing cross-platform digital entertainment sector, has parted with a majority stake to two private equity firms in Cellcast Asia Holdings, Mauritius (CAH). CAH wholly owns the India outfit, Cellcast Interactive India. While the PE firms will hold around 62 per cent in CAH, Cellcast PLC ( listed in UK) will reduce to a small minority. (Indiantelevision)
Nomura Puts India Infra Fund On Hold - Japan-based Nomura Holdings Inc. has put on the backburner plans to raise $500 million for its Indian Infrastructure Fund. The uncertain macroeconomic environment has triggered the decision. The firm had planned to go on roadshows in October, but it is yet to start talks with potential investors. Nomura had designated three senior people to operate the infrastructure fund. (Mint)
Violet Arch To Raise $500M Fund - The latest entrant to the private equity business is Varun Bajpai, former SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund chief executive. Bajpai’s Violet Arch Capital Advisors, a start-up investment bank, is set to raise a $500-million sector agnostic PE fund. Violet Arch Strategic Themes (VAST) fund, a mix of offshore and domestic, will invest in the range of $50-75 million. (Business Standard)
L&T Infra Finance Raises $100M For Solar Projects - L&T Infra Finance, a subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings on Thursday said it has raised close to $100 million through the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route this fiscal, largely to fund solar power projects. The ECB borrowings have been done to lower the cost of our funds. The company has drawn $45 million till September 30. (Business Line)
UTI AMC Appoints Interim Chief - UTI Asset Management company has appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman as its interim chief executive officer. He is currently the chief financial officer and company secretary. The board of UTI mutual fund was asked by the board of trustees to have a temporary arrangement as all the five shareholders were taking a lot of time to reach a consensus over the appointment of the next head. The country's fifth largest asset manager has been headless for the past 11 months after U K Sinha left to join Sebi. (Economic Times)
