facebook-page-view
Advertisement

News Roundup: Shriram General Insurance scouting for Asian acquisitions

By TEAM VCC

  • 22 Oct 2013

Shriram General Insurance (SGI), the non-life insurance arm of the Rs 65,000-crore Shriram Group, said it was looking at acquisition opportunities in Asia. SGI, along with its South African partner Sanlam, is eyeing deals in the range of $50-75 million (Rs 3 billion – Rs 4.5 billion). SGI had recently acquired Monarch Insurance, a Philippines-based non-life insurance firm, becoming the first Indian insurer to acquire an insurance company outside India. While Sanlam, a leading financial services group, is open to investing up to $50-75 million per deal, Shriram may not go beyond $5-10 million as it wants to keep its investment size under 10 per cent of what Sanlam invests, said Shriram Group’s Gdroup Director G S Sundararajan, who is also on the board of Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM), responsible for Sanlam’s financial business services in emerging markets outside South Africa. The company is looking at Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar for possible acquisitions. (Business Standard) 

TCIL starts process of Bharti Hexacom exit: State-run Telecom Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) has started the process of selling its 30% stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd, a unit of India’s largest mobile phone service provider. TCIL has issued a request for proposals for appointing a consultant to help it sell the stake, according to two people familiar with the development. The company expects to appoint the consultant by end-November. Bharti acquired more than 68% in Hexacom India Ltd in 2004. The stake was later increased to 70% after Bharti acquired 1.11% from a Kuwait-based telecom company. In 2010, the government invited bids to sell TCIL’s 30% stake in Hexacom with a base price of Rs 1,800 crore. But the sale process was put on hold in May 2011 as the cabinet secretary wanted to review the base price following complaints that it was too low. (Live Mint) 

Adani Ports gets closer to buying Dhamra port: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) is set to buy Dhamra port in Odisha after its operator secured environmental and coastal clearances for its second phase of expansion. APSEZ agreed to buy Dhamra Port Co. Ltd (DPCL), a venture of Larsen and Toubro Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd, early this year for about Rs 5,000 crore, provided that the current operator gets environmental and coastal zone approvals. If the deal goes through, it will be the largest in India’s port’s sector after Pipavav port in Gujarat was acquired by APM Terminals Management BV in 2005 from India’s SKIL Infrastructure Ltd.  (Live Mint) 

Advertisement

Mudajaya Group eyes mega power plants in India: Mudajaya Group Bhd has set its sights on building and operating two ultra mega power plant (UMPP) projects with a capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW) each in India. The group is looking for a partner either from Malaysia or India to form a consortium with its current partner in India to bid for the projects. Currently, Mudajaya is undertaking 1,440MW coal-fired power plant through its 26% associate company, RKM Powergen Pvt. Ltd. (RKMP). (Economic Times) 

Kalpataru Group, Oberoi Realty, Runwal Group and Lodha Group in final lap for Clariant's plot: Speciality chemicals maker Clariant Chemicals has shortlisted four Mumbai-based real estate developers for selling its 87-acre land parcel in Thane, three people familiar with the development said. These people said Kalpataru Group, Oberoi Realty  Runwal Group and Lodha Group are now in the running for the plot, which has a development potential of 6 million square feet. Four other bidders were dropped after the final round of talks on October 12. All four shortlisted developers have submitted their bids and the transaction is likely to be concluded by the yearend. Clariant Chemicals is hoping to raise Rs 1,500 crore ($244.65 million) through the sale. Given the size of the deal, Clariant may agree to payment in tranches, which will be negotiated with the winning bidder. (Economic Times) 

Viom may be first tower company to list overseas: The Kanorias of Srei and Tata Teleservices are currently mapping out a roadmap for possible overseas listing of Viom Networks. Viom, with over 42,000 cell sites and more than 95,000 tenancies, may become India’s first such listing since the government allowed in September unlisted Indian companies to list abroad. The Kanorias own 18% and control management of Viom, which is majority owned by the Tata Teleservices with a 54% stake while the rest is with institutions like IDFC Private Equity, SBI Macquarie, Oman Investment Fund and GIC of Singapore. (DNA) 

Advertisement

Arcil plans to acquire Rs 2,000 cr of bad loans in FY14: Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd. is planning to acquire bad loans of about Rs 2,000 crore this financial year. In 2012-13, it acquired bad loans of Rs 741 crore, against about Rs 100 crore in 2011-12.  In 2012-13, Arcil had bought two-thirds of the assets through cash, and a third by way of security receipts. (Business Standard) 

Federal Bank plans to bring in $100 mn from foreign swap: Federal Bank aims to bring in a little over $100 million (Rs 610 crore) from abroad by the end of November, to take advantage of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s new swap rules. The Kerala-based private lender has already raised $70 million (Rs 427 crore) and aims to bring in another $30-40 million (Rs 183 crore) over the next one month. The funds will be primarily used for export credit and foreign currency requirement of our clients. Other private lenders such as HDFC Bank and YES Bank have also raised money from overseas to make use of this facility. YES Bank was the first lender to take advantage of the swap window, raising $255 million through a dual currency, multi-tenor syndicated loan facility.(Business Standard)

Courtesy: VCCEdge

Advertisement

Share article on

Advertisement
Advertisement