Avantha Group Scouts For Acquisitions - Avantha Group, a diversified business conglomerate with interest in areas including power generation, manufacturing and education space, is scouting for possible acquisition to expand its Crompton Greaves and BILT business. The company plans to scale up its Crompton Greaves biz at a scale that will generate up to $5.5-6 billion in revenues. It also wants Rs 10,000 crore sales from power biz over the next five years, which is currently at Rs 4000 crore. (Economic Times)
Sterlite Raises $500 Million – Tamil Nadu-based metals and mining company Sterlite Industries has raised $500 million in senior notes, which are convertible into American Depositary Shares (ADS) at an initial conversion price of approximately $23.33 per ADS. The company intends to use the proceeds for expansion of its copper business with allied power plant and acquisition of complementary businesses outside of India. Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley were acting as joint book runners for the offering. (Times of India)
Duet, DLF Hotel Plot Talks Called Off - Duet India Hotels Ltd (DIH), the private equity firm focused on the hospitality sector, has called off talks for picking up a 2-acre Gurgaon hotel plot from DLF. The asking rate for the DLF plot was around Rs 10,000 per square feet and was supposedly brought down to Rs 8,000. The PE firm is currently in negotiations for a large brownfield development in south India for its foray in the five-star hospitality segment in the country. (DNA)
Voith In Talks With Tatas For JV - Voith Turbo, a unit of German engineering giant Voith AG, is in talks with Tata Motors for setting up a diesel locomotive manufacturing unit in India. The company has already completed one round of negotiation with the Tata Group last year and is going to initiate the next round of talks by the end of the current year. The company believes if everything goes according to the schedule, it might start working on plant in India by the 2011. (Business Standard)
US Hedge Fund Plans Rs 500-Cr Hydropower Investment - US hedge fund Wexford Capital LP is looking to buy equity stakes in Indian hydroelectric power generation companies. The fund has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 500 crore in the country, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Indus Renewable Energy India. Wexford Capital LP, which was formed in 1994, is an investment advisor with over $5 billion of assets under management. It manages a series of hedge funds and private equity funds. (ET)
Henkel India To Sell Kolkata Plant – Chennai-based Henkel India Ltd, a subsidiary of German Henkel AG & Co, has planned to sell its manufacturing facility in Kolkata, which makes brands such as Margo soap and Neem toothpaste. This is part of company’s plan to hive off certain production facilities to improve efficiency. The company proposes to use the contract manufacturing route to keep its operations viable. The Kolkata plant annually produced 12,000 tonnes of soap and 1,000 tonnes of toothpaste. (BS)
KAPL To Float Rs 100-Cr IPO - Ludhiana-based honey producer Kashmir Apiaries Pvt Ltd (KAPL) is planning to float an IPO worth Rs 100 crore later next year. The company plans to utilise the funds to add capacities in terms of expansion of bee-keeping colonies, acquiring warehouse facilities overseas and buying a factory in Germany. KAPL has exported 20,000 tonnes of honey last year and registered an export of Rs 216 crore in 2008-09 fiscal. The company has set a target of Rs 300 crore turnover in 2009-10. (BS)
