Zain Approaches BSNL - Zain Telecom has approached BSNL to pick up a significant stake in the West Asian company, but the state-run telco seems only interested in the African operations of Zain. Zain is Kuwait’s largest telecom operator and was also recently reported to be in talks with RCom. Reports suggest that top shareholders are looking to offload a 46% stake in Zain for about $14 billion. (Economic Times)
ATC Restarts Negotiations With Essar - American Tower (ATC) has restarted negotiations to buy majority stake in Essar Telecom Infrastructure (ETIPL), India’s second-largest independent tower company owned by the Ruias. ATC, the largest telecom tower firm of the US, has valued ETIPL’s 4,000 towers at $450 million. Others like Apax Partners and New Silk Route are also in the race for a minority investment. (ET)
EWDPL To Raise Rs800 Cr PE For 20 Projects - Mumbai based real estate developer Entertainment World Developers Pvt Ltd (EWDPL) plans to set up 20 malls under its rent-free revenue sharing concept for emerging brands across India. EWDPL has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for the proposed project, which spreads across 1-million square feet in 11 states and 20 cities. The company will raise around Rs 800 crore by way of private equity and the remaining will be from debt. (Economic Times)
Axis PE To Launch Second Fund Soon - Axis Bank promoted private equity fund Axis Private Equity plans to start its second fund soon. The fund is expected to hit the market later this year. Meanwhile, its first fund, with a corpus of Rs 600 crore, plans to invest Rs 200 crore in two more companies. It has already invested Rs 126 crore in Delhi-based Harish Chandra India (HCIL), a railway line building company; Rs 75 crore in hospitality company Neesa Leisure and Rs 67 crore in oil and gas pipeline developer Corrtech International Pvt Ltd, among others. (Business Standard)
Zuri Hotels To Invest Rs 200 Cr In East India - Zuri Hotels and Resorts, a Rs 120 crore business and luxury hotel chain, will invest around Rs 200 crore in East India. The hotelier is also looking at management control for some of the existing hotel chains in the region, and operating them under its own brand name. It finds Kolkata as a very attractive destination for unique combination of its cultural heritage and the recent industrial boom. (BS)
Govt Rejects Goldman Sachs' Proposal – In a recent ruling, the Government of India has rejected global financial services provider Goldman Sachs' proposal to give it a blanket approval for further investment in non-banking financial activities in India. Its Mauritius arm NBFC LLC has sought the waiver of the condition, while the government has rejected the same on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The company has committed investment of around Rs 2 lakh crore in its NBFC activities in the country. (BS)
Banks Sponsoring PE Will Require Additional Capital Base - Private equity funds backed by banks will need enhanced capital base to mitigate risks arising from such exposures. Banks sponsoring PE funds will have to maintain additional capital, said RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat. The banking regulator will shortly be issuing a draft discussion paper on prudential issues on banks’ floating and managing a private pool of capital. Some of the biggest private equity funds like IDFC Private Equity and ICICI Venture are backed by banks in India. (Mint)
Avesthagen To Raise Rs 850-950 Cr Via IPO, PE - Avesthagen Ltd, a Bangalore based biotechnology company, plans to raise Rs 850-950 crore by next year. The company plans to go public in the first half of 2010 to raise Rs 600-700 crore. It will raise another $50 million (around Rs 250 crore) private equity money in early next year. Avesthagen has appointed US investment bankers to look into prospective deals. (Hindu Business Line)
