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News Roundup: Mukesh Ambani Likely To Buy Majority In JM Financial

By TEAM VCC

  • 31 May 2010

Mukesh Ambani Likely To Buy Majority In JM Financial - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who controls oil major Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), and also has presence in some other sectors including retail, is in talks to buy a majority stake in JM Financial Asset Management Pvt Ltd. The move could be seen as his first attempt to enter Anil Ambani’s territory since the estranged brothers scrapped a “non-compete” agreement between them a week ago. JM Financial manages assets worth Rs 8,569 crore in a total of 27 investment plans. (Mint)

Kaiser, Caldwell Acquire Stake In BSE - Despite Dubai Financial Group calling off its plans to sell stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Toronto-based investment broker Thomas Caldwell and philanthropist George Kaiser have managed to acquire shares in Asia’s oldest bourse. Over the past few months, Kaiser has acquired over 3% in BSE, while Caldwell has increased his shareholding from 3.8% last year to 4.25% through multiple private deals. The shares had been purchased from brokers, as well as some of the institutional investors in BSE. (BS)

SAIF Partners To Buy 30% In Catmoss - Private equity firm SAIF Partners is in advanced talks to buy around 30% stake in Delhi-based kidswear retail chain Catmoss for Rs 70 crore. The deal follows global PE majors Bain Capital and TPG Growth’s $86-million investment in apparel manufacturer, exporter and retailer Lilliput Kidswear Pvt Ltd, for an undisclosed significant minority stake last month. Catmoss will utilise the fund in expanding its presence across the country. It currently runs around 150 exclusive brand outlets, besides presence in large format stores and multi-brand outlets. (ET)

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Piramals In talks To Sell Glass Biz - The Ajay Piramal group, which sold its domestic drug formulations business to Abbott Laboratories for Rs 17,000 crore recently, has started negotiations to sell its glass business to Hindusthan National Glass & Industries. The Kolkata-based container glass company Hindusthan National Glass has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Piramal, and the two parties are now discussing the valuation of the deal. Reportedly, Piramals want a premium on the market value of Piramal Glass on the grounds that the company is now out of the woods, while Hindusthan National has asked for a discount since the acquirer will have to take care of the company’s debt, which is estimated at around Rs 1,000 crore. (ET)

Mukesh Ambani May Enter Telecom Biz - With the brothers scrapped a non-compete agreement between them a week ago, Mukesh Ambani may now want to re-enter the telecom business, with local partners. For that, RIL may partner with Idea Cellular of Videocon. Four years ago, the Ambani brothers parted ways dividing the Reliance Group into two with a promise they won’t compete against each other. In that partition, Anil Ambani walked away with Reliance Communications (RCOM), today the second-largest telecom company in India, which was incubated by elder brother Mukesh. Last week, the brothers annulled their non compete agreement for all businesses, excluding gas-based power generation. The move opens oil exploration and refining to Anil, while power, financial services and telecommunications become available for Mukesh Ambani. (ET)

M&M, Ruia, Renault In South Korea's Bankrupt Ssangyong Race - French car giant Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra, the estranged partners in India, have made bids to buy South Korea’s bankrupt Ssangyong Motor Corp. Kolkata-based Ruia Group, the owners of Dunlop, Korean aluminium producer SM Group, Seoul Investment, a private equity fund and a local maker of Daewoo buses are the other bidders. Renault and M&M enjoyed a five-year relationship in India that began with a JV to make and sell the Logan series of cars in India in 2005. It was later broadened to include Nissan for a three-way joint venture to make and sell passenger cars near Chennai. M&M exited that venture in 2008 and followed it up by buying out Renault in the Logan JV in April this year. (ET

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GTL Likely To Buy 26% Stake In Qualcomm's BWA Foray - GTL, the Mumbai-based tower and telecom infrastructure company, is close to an agreement with US telecom giant Qualcomm Inc to take up to 26% stake in the latter’s proposed broadband wireless access (BWA) services company. Qualcomm is one of 11 bidders in the ongoing auction for BWA spectrum, which promises high-speed broadband services through wireless. The deal is, of course, subject to Qualcomm winning either a pan-India licence or one in some of the 22 circles across the country. (BS)

Anil Ambani Forms Equal JV With CBS For Small-Screen Debut - Billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Media World will form an equal joint venture with iconic American media company CBS Corporation to launch a potentially disruptive network of television channels under the brand BIG CBS. The companies have reached an agreement on the JV and an announcement is expected to be made this week. The joint venture will start operations from January next year and will launch a slew of channels, starting with those featuring syndicated content from CBS, and will eventually enter the Hindi general entertainment space. (ET)

Spice Global In Talks To Buy Dubai's Cellucom - Spice Global, a leading manufacturer and retailer of mobile phones, is in talks to buy the Dubai-based Cellucom and other distressed regional mobile retailers as part of a major push into the Gulf markets.  Spice currently has around 700 HotSpot mobile retail stores in India, and is in discussions with Cellucom's liquidators to buy up its assets. The company is also in the process of establishing its regional headquarters in Dubai. (PTI)

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BoR Shareholders Move SC Against Merger With ICICI - A few shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan (BoR) have moved the Supreme Court, objecting to its proposed merger with ICICI Bank over a long pending dispute in the bank’s ownership structure. In its petition to the SC against the bank, along with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), these shareholders have sought an interim stay on the proposed merger. A lawyer representing the interest of these shareholders said since a separate order seeking clarity on the bank’s shareholding pattern is pending with the Supreme Court since 2006, the merger cannot go ahead. (ET)

ArcelorMittal Plans Power Venture In India - ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel producer, has planned a foray into power generation in India. This will be the group’s second project in the energy sector. It currently has a 49% equity in HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd that is implementing a petroleum refinery project in Bhatinda, Punjab. India-born L N Mittal already has a small presence in the power sector through LNM India Internet Ventures. The company holds 8.79% stake in Indiabulls Power, which is developing thermal power projects with a capacity of 6,600 MW. (BS)

City Union Bank To Raise Rs 1,000Cr Through QIP - City Union Bank (CUB) is planning to raise around Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years through qualified institutional placement (QIPs). The bank had already got approval from its board to raise Rs 300 crore and is planning to seek approval for another Rs 700 crore. The bank will raise the fund from both domestic and foreign institutions. (BS)

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