Everstone Capital, one of the largest India-focused private equity firms with $2.2 billion assets under management, and former top guns of IT consulting firm Headstrong are joining forces for acquisitions, or large investments, in the mid-market technology space. Everstone Capital and Solmark, a firm floated by the Headstrong team led by its former CEO Sandeep Sahai, have emerged as a front runner to acquire a significant stake in Servion Global Solutions, a Chennai-based provider of customer interaction management solutions, in a deal valued at about $70 million (Rs 420 million). ()
Book-MyForex plans to raise Rs 24 cr: Book-MyForex (BMF), an online marketplace for forex and remittance services, is in advanced talks with venture capital funds Accel Partners and Kalaari Capital to raise Rs 18-24 crore ($3 million - $4 million). The company was founded by Sundarshan Motwani who was the forex head at ING Vysya Bank. He started BMF along with the founder of the erstwhile Centurion Bank, Tejbir Singh, with a seed funding of Rs 1.5 crore. “We are in advanced talks with a couple of venture capital funds and are hopeful about closing the deal by September,†Motwani told. (Business Line)
Adani Ports wants to acquire more, eyes southeast coast: Adani Ports and SEZ, India's largest port operator, is seeking further acquisitions after taking over Dhamra port on the east coast recently. It's looking to buy a port on the southeast coast to strengthen its presence across the country, two people familiar with the matter told. It is also in talks with several international port operators to sell a significant stake in its Hazira operations in Gujarat to free up cash and get assured shipping lines that will come with such partnerships. It is more likely to buy an asset in Andhra Pradesh as its presence in Tamil Nadu is ensured after it won the bid to build a container terminal in Ennore this year. ()
Sequoia to buy stake in Tamil Nadu co Milky Mist Dairy: Global investors have gulped down India's milk story as a proxy to rising consumerism in Asia's third largest economy. The latest will be Sequoia Capital, which is poised to invest $25 million (Rs 150 crore) for a minority ownership of Milky Mist Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd. The pedigree US venture capitalist is in advanced due diligence to clinch a deal valuing the Erode, Tamil Nadu-based Milky Mist at Rs 430 crore ($70 million). Investment bank Spark Capital is advising on the deal. (The Times of India)
Tata Sons pledges TCS shares for Docomo deal: The Tata group's holding company, Tata Sons, is pledging shares of group companies, including the most valuable firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to buy out NTT Docomo in Tata Teleservices. This fund-raising exercise is aside from a series of non-convertible debentures the Tata firm has issued. Tata Sons needs Rs 7,200 crore ($1.19 billion) to buy Docomo's 26.5% stake in loss-making Tata Teleservices. The deadline set by the Japanese company to sell its shares expired on Monday. According to statistics given to the stock exchanges, Tata Sons has so far pledged 31.9 million TCS shares worth Rs 7,700 crore ($1.28 billion). (Business Standard)
Nasscom launches third phase of start-up initiative: After receiving about 7,000 applications in the earlier rounds, information technology (IT) industry body Nasscom on Monday launched the third phase of its “10,000 start-up initiativeâ€. The industry body expects to receive a “few thousand†applications in this round as well. “The first two phases had attracted 7,000 applications of which 529 were shortlisted and over 125 benefited by way of receiving funding, acceleration, mentoring, co-working space, enterprise connects and showcase opportunities through the programme,†said R Chandrashekhar, president, Nasscom. In the third phase of the 10,000 startup initiative, US-based semiconductor chip maker Intel has come on board as an industry sponsor, which would collaborate with the initiative to make India a hotspot in the Internet of Things, Nasscom said. (Business Standard)
SIDBI to mop up Rs 18,000 crore during 2014-15: Small Industries and Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is planning to mop up about Rs 18,000 crore ($3 billion) from the market through various financial instruments to fuel its growth. SIDBI, which disbursed Rs 51,891 crore ($8.6 billion) during 2013-14 against Rs 40,520 crore ($6.74 billion) during 2012-13, is eyeing growth of 20-25 percent in its direct finance portfolio during the current financial year. The Bank has estimated resources gap for 2013-14 at Rs 25,000 crore ($4.15 billion), of which Rs 18,000 ($3 billion) would be met through raising money from the market, including bonds. (Business Standard)
ChrysCapital looks to raise seventh fund next year: ChrysCapital Management Co., the high-profile home-grown private equity (PE) firm with investments of $2.5 billion (around Rs 15,000 crore), will hit the road in mid-2015 to raise its seventh fund, said a person familiar with the matter. By then, the company would have invested the rest of its sixth fund, which has a corpus of $510 million. “The fund will look to close four-five transactions and exhaust the present fund before raising fresh capital. It plans to raise around $650 million from its existing limited partners (in its seventh fund),†said the person, who asked not to be identified. The company is looking to close deals in the healthcare and consumer services space in the next six months, according to the first person cited above. (Live Mint)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
