Caspian Advisors has said it would set up a $40-million fund to provide debt capital to a wide range of institutions serving low-income or financially excluded communities. The investment advisory firm has launched the fund with $10 million of committed investments from the Dutch development financial institution FMO, Triodos Doen and Hivos-Triodos Fund, Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, Caspian promoters, and local Indian investors. The new fund, Caspian Impact Investments, will initially focus on investing in businesses in the microfinance, small business financing, affordable housing, food, and agriculture sectors. (Business Standard)
PE funds consortium in talks to acquire Reliance Globalcom: A consortium of PE funds including Samena Capital is in advanced stage of negotiations for acquisition of Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Globalcom Ltd. Reliance Globalcom is a unit of Reliance Communications and owns undersea cable firm Flag Telecom. The deal is likely to conclude by May- end. Reliance Globalcom was previously in talks with Bahrain Telecom (Batelco). Sources said the PE consortium has been preferred as it was offering better price and faster execution of the deal, which may be USD 1 to 1.2 billion in size. (Moneycontrol.com)
Satyam Cineplexes plans to raise Rs.100 crore: Satyam Cineplexes Ltd plans to raise Rs.100 crore by selling a minority stake to private equity investors and use the proceeds to fund expansion plans, managing director Deven Chachra said. The Delhi-based company has mandated BMR Advisors to find buyers for the stake, he said. “In the current multiplex environment of consolidation it is difficult for smaller cinema chains to survive. Satyam was in talks with leading multiplex owners such as Inox and PVR, but valuation was an issue,†said an industry expert and person concerned to the matter. (Live Mint)
Govt to infuse Rs 400 crore in IIFCL in FY14: India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) is likely to get capital support of Rs 400 crore from the government during the current fiscal to fund business growth. "The government has made a provision of Rs 400 crore keeping in view the business programme and capital requirement of the company," IIFCL Chairman and Managing Director S K Goel said. The company, wholly owned by the Government of India, provides funds - especially debt of longer-term maturity - directly to eligible projects to supplement other loans from banks and financial institutions. (mydigitalfc.com)
HP may sell stake in Mphasis: Hewlett-Packard Co. might change its ownership in Bangalore’s Mphasis Ltd as part of reviving the US firm that has struggled to transition into a services-driven business after a string of failed acquisitions. “The ownership structure at Mphasis could change over the next couple of years. It probably needs to as it drives a lot of confusion in the market over this,†said Mike Nefkens. HP has a 60% holding in Mphasis, which operates as a separate India-listed entity but derives more than half of its business from the Palo Alto, California-based company. Mphasis has been trying to reduce this dependence on HP as orders decline from the struggling parent company. (Live Mint)
RIL to Raise $1 B by Using Shale Reserve as Collateral: Reliance Industries Ltd is in the process of raising close to a billion dollars from leading global financial institutions and banks, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citi and Barclays, by using its shale gas reserves in the US as collateral. Such transactions are prevalent in developed markets and RIL is amongst the first Indian global oil and gas corporations to use this method to raise money and fund its ongoing capital expenditure programme. The company is already in negotiations with several institutions and expects greater clarity on structuring and the final quantum in the coming weeks. (The Economic Times)
SBI to raise $500-$600m in offshore borrowing: State Bank of India plans to raise $500-$600 million worth of offshore external commercial borrowings in three to four months’ time, a senior executive said on Tuesday. The bank priced a five-year, $1 billion bond issue with a coupon of 3.25 percent last week, generating interest of more than four times the bond size, said Hemant Contractor, managing director of international business. (mydigitalfc.com)
SEBI to auction govt bonds worth over Rs 29k cr for FIIs: SEBI will hold an auction on Monday for grant of permission to Foreign Institutional Investors for investments worth up to Rs 29,108 crore in government bonds. The auction to be held on the BSE platform after closure of stock trading hours at 1530 hours by Sebi, FIIs would be able to bid for investment limits of Rs 24,621 crore in the long-term government debt securities and the remaining Rs 4,487 crore in other government bonds. (mydigitalfc.com)
DMI Finance raises Rs 100 crore through NCDs: DMI Finance, a NBFC backed by the Burman family of Dabur India, has raised Rs 100 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures and is looking to raise further funds over the next year to finance its growth plans, a top official has said. The entire issue of Rs 100 crore was subscribed by the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and the NCDs have been listed on the BSE. The NCDs have a 36-month maturity period and were offered at an interest rate of 13.5 per cent, payable on a half-yearly basis and will be used to expand its lending business. (The Economic Times)
Courtesy: VCCEdge