Actis Likely To Buy Stake In GVK's Power Biz - Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, is set to acquire a stake in infrastructure major GVK’s power business for about Rs 1,000 crore. The deal is close to being finalised and would be done over the next six-eight weeks. The transaction is likely to take place through Actis’ Emerging Markets Fund of $750-million size focused on infrastructure. The UK-based fund has recently partnered with Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) to invest $200 million (around Rs 950 crore) into a joint venture that will focus on road construction. (BS)
Renuka-Equipav Deal Talks Turn Sour - Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, a listed company in sugar biz, which signed agreement to acquire the sugar and alcohol assets of Brazil’s Equipav Group, is facing problem with the buy due to parallel bid from two other firms. Shree Renuka has signed the agreement four months back to buy 51% stake in Equipav SA Açúcar e lcool, the sugar and alcohol assets of Brazil’s Equipav Group, for Rs 1,530 crore. Reportedly, the exclusive dialogue between the two has fallen through, as two other potential bidders such as Bunge, the NYSE-listed global agro-processing giant and Hong Kong-based Noble Group, have opened parallel talks with the Equipav management for the majority stake. (BS)
Tata Steel To Hike Stake In New Millennium - Tata Steel, part of diversified Tata Group, has entered into a letter of intent (LoI) to increase its stake in Canadian mining company New Millennium Capital Corp to 27.4%, a move aimed at buffering its European operations from the volatility in raw material prices to some extent. According to an intimation from New Millennium Capital Corp, LoI was being pursued by Tata Steel Global Mineral Holdings Pte, a subsidiary of Tata Steel. Tata Steel currently owns 19.65% in the Canadian company. (BS)
Anil Ambani May Get Priority Gas If RIL Picks Equity - The government may give preference in gas allotment to power projects of the ADAG group if RIL picks up equity stakes in them. The Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) could reportedly buy equity stakes in gas-based power plants run by ADAG companies. The proposed gas linkage, similar to the one in the coal sector, will rate projects for fuel allocation in order of priority and their level of preparedness, regulatory clearances and ability to execute projects on time. (ET)
Bharti Starts Drawing Funds To Complete Zain Deal – Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telco by both customers and revenues, has started drawing down funds from lenders for completing its $9-billion buy of Kuwaiti telecom Zain’s African assets. Bharti Airtel is currently in the process of getting approval from each of the 15 African nations where Zain operates in the continent. The company is expecting to close the deal soon. (ET)
Tata Sons Plans Rs 1,330Cr Capital Infusion In Tata Steel - Tata Sons, the investment arm of the Tata Group, is likely to inject around Rs 1,330 crore in Tata Steel through a preferential share-cum-warrant issue to part-finance the steel maker’s future growth plans. The Tata Steel board on Thursday decided to make the preferential allotment of 15 million equity shares along with a 12 million warrant issue, to Tata Sons, a move that would increase the promoter holding to 38%. The warrants can be converted into equity shares at a later stage at a pre-determined price. (ET)
Aegon Religare To Get Fresh Capital - The promoters of Aegon Religare Life Insurance plans to infuse around Rs 450-470 crore capital into their joint venture in the current financial year. Additional investment will be done in the ratio of 44:26:30 among the three promoters -- Religare, Aegon and Bennett, Coleman & Co, respectively. The company is targeting to triple its new business income this year that has recorded a total business of Rs 166 crore last year. (BS)
StanChart IDR Subscribed 0.11 Times On Day 3 - The third day of bidding for Standard Chartered Plc’s Indian depository receipts (IDRs) saw less than two million bids pouring in as the issue got subscribed only 0.11 times with Friday being the last day of bidding. The issue was subscribed 0.10 times till Wednesday. According to stock exchange data, the issue has received bids for 22.34 million IDRs until 5 pm on Thursday. The offering comprises of 240 million IDRs in the price band of Rs 100 to Rs 115. (BS)
Infosys Looks Smaller Buys Of $500M Size - IT major Infosys Technologies is looking for acquisitions to the tune of $500 million. The company is looking at small companies for the buy so that the integration becomes easy. The acquisitions will be made keeping two goals in mind that include targeting the newer geographies, with a focus on Europe, and filling up gaps in certain areas of services. (Business Line)
Azad To Meet Pharma Majors Over M&A Issues - Concerned by the trend of pharmaceutical multinationals acquiring Indian drug majors, the Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has called for a meeting with Indian drug companies to find out the impact of such deals on the availability of cheap drugs. His concern was primarily on whether multinational drug majors, with increasing control over generic firms, will increase the price of medicines available in India. In the past few years, some of the largest Indian drug companies have gone into the hands of foreign pharmaceutical giants. These include the recent acquisition of Piramal Healthcare by Abbott Labs and the buyout of majority share in Ranbaxy by Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo. (Business Line)