European Health Chain To Buy 15% In Nova Arm - A European healthcare chain is close to acquiring a 15% strategic stake in day-care hospital chain Nova Medical's In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) subsidiary. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the prospective foreign partner and a formal announcement is expected by month-end, once financials details are finalise. Industry experts estimate Nova Pulse, the IVF arm, to be valued at less than Rs 300 crore. Nova Pulse accounts for about one-third of Nova Medical's total revenues, expected to close at over Rs 100 crore this fiscal. (Economic Times)
Sutures India In Talks To Raise $40M - Bangalore-based Sutures India Pvt Ltd, a surgical consumables maker, plans to raise $25-40 million (about Rs. 132-211 crore) by selling a minority stake to private equity (PE) funds. Sutures, which manufactures absorbable and non-absorbable sutures, eyeless needles, skin staplers, bone wax, surgical meshes and disposable surgical gloves, had raised Rs. 35 crore from Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund in 2009. (Mint)
AV Birla Eyes Lafarge's South Africa Unit - After West Asia and Bangladesh, it may well be the fast growing South African market that the $35 billion Aditya Birla Group will enter to globalise its cement operations further. The cement-to-retail Indian conglomerate has turned its attention towards the cement operations of Lafarge in South Africa for a possible buyout. The Paris-headquartered Lafarge SA is restructuring its global operations through a series of asset sales to deleverage its balance sheet which has over euro 14.3 billion (Rs 96,382 crore, approximately) of net debt. (Business Standard)
Sterlite Ready To Buy Balco Stake At Agreed Price - Sterlite Industries will offer to buy the government's 49% stake in group company Balco at a mutually agreed price outside of an earlier call option plan, as both parties are keen to resolve stake-sale talks deadlocked for a year. If Sterlite's proposal is accepted, it will complete the Anil Agarwal-promoted company's 100% ownership of Balco besides helping the government meet its disinvestments target for the current fiscal. (Economic Times)
Strides Arcolab Eyes Sale Of Australia Unit - Drug maker Strides Arcolab is considering sale of its Australian branded generics unit Ascent Pharmahealth as part of a value unlocking move. New York-based investment bank Jefferies is advising Strides Arcolab on a divestment plan that may also include other businesses like softgel and anti-retro viral (ARV) drug manufacturing, as the pharma major wants to focus on growing specialty injectables. The Rs 1,761-crore Strides Arcolab and the local management fully own Ascent, which was delisted from Australian bourses in 2010. (Times of India)
Cairn-Vedanta May Need One More Nod - Cairn and Vedanta Resources may have jumped the gun in concluding the $8.5-billion deal before they received the government's formal approval, but the oil ministry has recommended to the Cabinet that the transaction that was conditionally cleared in June should get the final consent. Vedanta has already paid the money to Cairn for acquiring the controlling stake in Cairn India and appointed its nominees on the board. (Economic Times)
SAIL Consortium To Invest Rs 375Cr In Afghanistan - A consortium of steel companies led by state-owned Steel Authority of India will invest about Rs 375 crore in initial exploration for iron ore at Hajigak in Afghanistan, said to contain the world's second-largest reserves of the mineral. The exploration will give the Indian consortium, called Afghanistan Iron & Steel Consortium (AFISCO), an indication of the size and grade of reserves, which were last explored in the 60s. (Economic Times)
