Canara Bank, the Bangalore-based public sector lender, is in the final lap of taking over Amanath Co-operative Bank, with the Karnataka government all set to issue a gazette notification soon. With this process a formality now, the NPA-loaded history of Amanath Bank will come to end in the true banking sense and will be an entity focused only on recovering the Rs 165 crore ($27 million) of outstanding loans. The bank over the past few years had been grappling with unwieldy NPAs and during mid 2013, the RBI had to step in to freeze its operations, leading to a cascading effect on its small-time depositors. Canara Bank will be taking a minor hit on this merger given the context that capital has completely eroded and the public-sector lender will have to service the Rs 396 crore ($64 million) worth of deposits from around 200,000 depositors. (Business Standard)
HPL lenders yet to give approval to rights issue: Although the board of ailing Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) had approved the proposed rights issue of the company two months back, the lenders were yet to give their approval. The lenders are yet to give their approval to the rights issue. Then industry minister and chairman of HPL Partha Chatterjee announced that rights issue was the only way for an immediate infusion of capital in the company. HPL had planned to issue 52 crore equity shares at Rs 25.10 per share on rights basis which was expected to fetch Rs 1,300 crore ($210 million) to the company. (Business Standard)
KPIT Technologies may sell minority stake to PEs: Promoters and two private equity (PE) shareholders of mid-market software services provider KPIT Technologies have begun negotiations with PE and strategic investors to sell a significant minority stake in the company. The shareholders are in talks with PE and strategic players for a stake sale," a person with direct knowledge of the deal said. "The discussions have now veered around the valuation of the company. The stake sale talks also involve the stake held by the private equity investors. The company and the investors are demanding around 25-30%premium to its current price. (Economic Times)
American Tower Corp is likely to bid for Tata Teleservices-owned Viom Networks: American Tower Corp is working towards a bid for Viom Networks, the telecommunications tower company majority-owned by Tata Teleservices, three people familiar with the matter said, setting the stage for the Boston, US-based firm to become one of the largest telecom infrastructure providers in India. The company is willing to value Viom at around Rs 10,000-12,000 crore ($ 1.6-1.9 billion), excluding debt, one of the people said. Viom's debt is estimated at Rs 7,200 crore ($1.1 billion), which is expected to fall to around Rs 6,500 crore ($1 billion) by the end of 2014 as the company plans to repay some loans through internal accruals. (Economics Times)
LIC is likely to pick 5% stake in BHEL: The country's largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), may pick up 5% stake in state-run power equipment maker BHEL in a block deal. The proposal initiated by the heavy industries & public enterprises ministry is now being processed by the disinvestment and financial services department of the finance ministry. The ministry has been opposed to stock market sale of BHEL's share by the government under its disinvestment programme that has been drastically pruned to Rs 19,027 crore ($3 billion) from Rs 54,000 crore ($8.7 billion) budgeted initially. A senior official with LIC told that they have been unofficially made aware of the developments. (Economics Times)
Indian Billionaire Kotak’s Property Fund to raise $200M: Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, which manages $1 billion (Rs 6,170 crore) in real estate assets, plans to raise $200 million (Rs 1,234 crore) for a private equity fund that will invest in residential properties in India’s biggest cities. The company, owned by billionaire Uday Kotak, raised $200 million from overseas investors last year for the fund and will complete raising a similar amount by May this year, said V. Hari Krishna, a director at Kotak Investment. The fund will invest in residential markets in cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. (Bloomberg)
IOC plans to buy 10% in Petronas' LNG project for $900M: In a move that will mark Indian Oil Corporation’s entry into North America, the state-run company is set to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Malaysian firm Petronas’ shale-gas and liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia for Rs 5565.54 crore ($900 million). The Cabinet had cleared the proposal for this on February 12. The oil major has already secured a one-year bridge loan to fund the deal. we have just finalised a further 25 per cent equity participation from an Indian party and an established Asian LNG buyer. (Business Standard)
SunEdison plans to list assets on global exchanges: Solar power company SunEdison is planning to list its entire portfolio of solar assets in the overseas exchanges. Once executed, SunEdison would be the first company to list solar assets from India on any exchange. The company plans to publicly list asset vehicles and has filed S1 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), relating to the proposed initial public offering of the common stock of a yieldcon vehicle. (Business Standard)
Manpasand Beverages plans IPO to raise Rs 500Cr: Fruit drinks manufacturer Manpasand Beverages is planning to raise nearly Rs 500 crore ($80.85 million) through an initial public offer to double its capacity and explore newer markets. The company planned to more than double our capacity in the next two years to reach out to the untapped rural market. For this purpose, we plan to come out with an IPO to raise funds. The company is likely to go public in FY 2016. (Economic Times)
Videocon looks to cut debt: The telecom space is buzzing with M&A activity. Another company making the news is unlisted player, Videocon. Sources say Videocon promoters are in a bid to bring down their debt and they have appointed bankers to evaluate valuation of Videocon Telecom, erstwhile Videocon Mobile Services, they are looking for a sellout. (Money Control)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
