A venture of Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) is evaluating the acquisition of units set up jointly by BGR Energy Systems Ltd and Hitachi Power Europe GmbH. The BGR-Hitachi joint ventures (JVs) one makes turbines and the other boilers have orders valued at around INR.3,000 crore. BGR has a 51% stake in the turbine unit, BGR-Hitachi TG, with the rest held by Hitachi. BGR has a 70% stake in the boiler unit, BGR-Hitachi Boilers, with the rest held by Hitachi. The L&T-MHI JV is looking to acquire BGR-Hitachi Power JV. (Live Mint)
CX Partners, CLSA arm vie for Techfront stake: A private equity arm of CLSA and former Citigroup veteran Ajay Relan-led CX Partners are in the reckoning to buy a $33 million (INR 175 crore) stake in Technology Frontiers, or Techfront, an instadia sports management company involved with events like the English Premier League football and Formula-1 racing. The investment deal will involve issuance of fresh shares and sale by some existing investors, valuing the Chennai-based company at over $100 million. India-focused private equity firm Avigo Capital has a 37% stake in the firm while a group of ultra high networth individuals (HNIs) owns a large block in Techfront. Promoter M S Muralidharan holds 40% in the company. (The Times Of India)
Kanakia to exit Ahmedabad hotel: The promoters of Kanakia Group have begun the process of divesting their stakes in four hotel projects by putting the upcoming Novotel branded five-star hotel in Ahmedabad on the block. Private equity firm Sun Apollo, which owns the land on which the project is coming up, will also exit the project. The hotel, now in the final stage of construction, is expected to get operational by June. Kanakia has mandated the Indian arm of an international property consultant (IPC) to find a buyer. The hotel will be managed by Accor Group, the international hotel chain. (DNA)
Gammon in talks with lenders for INR 3,500 crore debt recast: Loss-making construction firm Gammon India Ltd. is in talks with its lenders to recast its debt aggregating to INR 3,500 crore ($647.05 million) through the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) route. The cash-strapped company hopes to get a breather from banks on debt repayment and is simultaneously planning to raise funds by diluting its stake in its subsidiaries to improve its cash position. The 100-year old Gammon India has been struggling as it is for cash as a slowdown in projects in the local market has hurt its revenues. (The Economic Times)
JSPL eyes majority stake in NMDC's upcoming INR 15,000 crore steel plant: Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) is interested to partner NMDC Ltd., in the latter's upcoming INR 15,000 crore ($2.77 billion) steel plant in Chhattisgarh, provided it gets a controlling stake in the venture. NMDC is putting up a 3 million tonne steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region and scouting for a joint venture partner, among steel players for operating the plant. The project was initially conceived as a three-way jv between NMDC and PSU steel majors, SAIL and RINL. Later NMDC decided to spearhead it on its own. (The Economic Times)
HDB Financial Services plans to raise INR 1.5 bn via subordinate debt: HDB Financial Services Ltd. is planning to raise INR 150 crore ($27.75 million) through a 10-year subordinate debt sale. The bonds would pay 9.60% coupon. ICICI Bank is the sole arranger to the bond sale. The borrower, rated 'AAA' by Crisil and Care, is a non-banking finance company promoted by HDFC Bank.
GVK group to conclude stake sale in coal business in 3-4 months: Infrastructure major GVK group is in talks with investors to sell minority stakes in its airport division and its Australian coal mining business. Owing to a series of acquisitions, the Hyderabad-based company is saddled with high debt. In September 2011, GVK had acquired Australia’s Hancock Coal for $1.26 billion, securing control of the firm’s mining business, railway line and port infrastructure project. Last week, GVK had sold a 51% stake in its infrastructure and port division. It is also in talks to sell a 49% stake in the mining business. The mining business deal would be finalised in three to four months. (Business Standard)
Cigniti Tech to raise $10 mn for buyout: Cigniti Technologies Ltd. (formerly Chakkilam Infotech Limited), a city-based independent software testing company, is looking at raising $10 million (approximately INR 54 crore) either through a preferential allotment to the existing shareholders or through a private equity placement to fuel its inorganic growth plans. The company is looking for acquisitions to augment testing capabilities and bring in new clients and geographical areas. The firm is in advanced stages of negotiations with a US-based company and expects to complete the fund-raising and acquisition process in the next three to six months. Chakkilam Infotech, had in 2011, acquired US-based Cigniti Inc in an all-stock deal. Post the merger, it rebranded itself as Cigniti Technologies Ltd. (Business Standard)
Karnataka plans VC fund for pharma sector: The Karnataka government has proposed to set up a venture capital fund with a corpus of INR 50 crore ($9.24 million) to support budding entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical sector. The move to set up an exclusive VC fund for the pharma sector has been spelt out in the Karnataka Pharma Policy 2012, which was unveiled recently. The proposed Pharma VC Fund will have 26% contribution from the state government, while the balance will come from private investors and financial institutions. (Business Standard)
We are in talks with MAA TV: Andrew Kaplan: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has raised its stake in Multi Screen Media (MSM) to 94%, by buying out the stake of Indian promoters for $271 million. The firm is also in talks to secure full control of MSM by acquiring private equity firm Capital International's six per cent stake. The company is also in talks with MAA TV for regional expansion. Earlier, the firm acquired Bengali movie channel Aath. (Business Standard)
IOB's Board approves MTN programme worth $2 billion: State-run Indian Overseas Bank has approved a new Medium-Term Notes (MTN) programme worth $2 billion (INR 10,818 crore). The approval came last month by the board. This is the second MTN programme of the bank. The last programme worth $1 billion was concluded in 2012 where $500 million was raised each time in 2011 and 2012. In the past the funds raised by way of MTN were used for the bank's Singapore and Hong Kong branch operations. The company is also likely that the new MTN programme will span even in 2014-15. (Business Standard)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
