GVK Power Buy Hits Coal Mine Hurdle - Four-month-long negotiations between GVK Infrastructure and Dainik Bhaskar Power (DB Power) to buy the latter’s power plant have fallen through. GVK had been evaluating a Chhattisgarh-based 1,200 Mw power project that is being developed by DB Power, which has plans to set up 5,000 Mw of power capacity. The deal fell through following differences over the amount of coal allocated for the project. DB Power’s project comes with a captive coal mine with reported reserves of 100 million tonnes and it has a window to sell as much as 60% of the power produced on a merchant basis. (BS)
Fortis May Raise Equity Of Rs 200 Crore - As part of an additional outlay of Rs 600 crore to fund its capital expenditure programmes, Fortis Healthcare plans to raise Rs 450 crore through a combination of term loans from banks as well as internal accruals. The company plans to raise about 60% of this through internal accrual and the remainder by term loans from banks. The fund is proposed to be spent over the next two years. Fortis is contemplating raising an additional Rs 200 crore by the end of the year for the Gurgaon Medicity project through a strategic equity sale if the requirement arises. (BS)
Spice Finance Eyes 15% Stake In UCX - Spice Finance, part of the BK Modi-promoted Spice Group, is in talks with the promoter of Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX) to pick up a 15% stake in the upcoming national-level commodity bourse. The deal, if it materialises, would be done at par value, that means, Spice Finance will have to shell out Rs 15 crore to acquire 15% stake in UCX. Simultaneously, Spice Finance is also negotiating with some shareholders of the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) to buy a 15% stake. (FC)
Blackstone To Scale Up CMS’ Cash Mgmt - Almost a year after its takeover of the domestic business of the CMS Group, private-equity firm Blackstone has drawn up a plan to aggressively scale up the company’s cash management and printing businesses. It is also planning its first overseas foray through remote infrastructure management (RIM) services. The move will put it in competition with established players such as HCL Technologies, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services. CMS Info Systems, the entity carved out from the CMS Group, is 60% owned by Blackstone and 40% by the original promoters, the Grover family. (ET)
Daredevils, Royals Promoters Look To Offload Stakes - Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals, two of the high-profile teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), may see changes in ownership. Delhi Daredevils, controlled by the Hyderabad-based GMR Group, has appointed Kotak Mahindra Bank while Rajasthan Royals, owned by Emerging Media, is using the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers to find new investors as the owners of these teams seek to cash in on increasing valuations even as the third season of the IPL gets underway from March 12. (ET)
Neo Corp International Acquires Sacos Indigo - Neo Corp International Ltd (NCIL), a manufacturer and exporter of plastic woven and knitted products, has acquired Sacos Indigo Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Sacos is engaged in the same line of business, and has become the subsidiary of the company by virtue of acquisition of shares, NCIL informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. (Team VCC)
Moser Baer Plans To Raise $165 Million - Moser Baer India Ltd, a leading home entertainment company, is planning to raise a total of $165 million through equity or equity linked instruments, said the company in its filing to the NSE. The board of directors of the company has approved the fund raising plan in its meetings held recently. The company may issue equity shares or equity linked instruments to qualified institutional buyers or FCCBs, GDRs, ADRs or equity shares through the depository receipts mechanism and other financial instruments convertible into or linked to equity shares for the process. It plans to raise the fund for growth plans, apart from correcting the capital structure and strengthening the balance sheet of the company. (Team VCC)
OIL Willing To Take Over ONGC's Assam Oilfields - As the government mulls hiving off Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s (ONGC’s) Assam oilfields, state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) has said it is willing to take over the assets. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has suggested ONGC to explore the possibility of hiving off its Assam assets into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The proposal is aimed at improving the productivity of ONGC’s Assam operations. (BS)
Essar Plans To Invest $2B In African Telecom - The Essar Group plans to invest over $2 billion (Rs 9,270 crore) to have a pan-African mobile operation in six-seven countries in the region. The company targets to get 20 million customers in its fold in the region as it sees huge potential in investing in Africa, which has a mobile customer base of 200 million. It is also in talks with the government of South Africa to set up a power plant in the country. (BS)
Dalmia Cement Ups Stake In OCL - Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited (DCBL) has increased its stake in OCL India from the current 21.7% to 45.4% through an inter se transfer, which is estimated to be around Rs 177 crore. The acquisition cost of OCL stake at $50 per tonne is much below the replacement cost for a cement plant, and was completed in an all-cash deal, at the ruling market price. It was funded through internal accruals. OCL India, is a diversified company with interests in cement and refractory business. It has a strong presence in the eastern region of the country. (BS)
ICICI Open To Domestic Acquisition - India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Sunday ruled out overseas acquisitions, but said it is open to buying local banks to increase presence and business within the country. In a way, the company is well established in 18 countries and has a very large network in those countries. (BS)
Viceroy Hotels To Raise Up To Rs 70Cr - Viceroy Hotels Ltd plans to raise up to Rs 70 crore by allotment of shares at premium. The board of directors of the company will meet on February 3 to discuss the issue. The company is in the process of investing in expansion of its projects in Hyderabad, Bangalore and other cities. (Business Line)
Citi Plans Sale Of Private Equity Unit - Citigroup Inc plans to sell or spin-off its $10 billion Citi Private Equity unit in order to cut its debt. The unit oversees about $2 billion of Citi's money, with the remainder coming from outside investors. Citigroup made the decision to sell the unit last year, before US president Barack Obama announced his plan to limit financial risk-taking by banks. That plan could force banks to shed parts of their private equity operations. (Reuters)
B K Modi Goes For Consolidation - BK Modi's Spice group is consolidating its telecom ventures. The company will merge its two subsidiaries — listed Spice Mobiles and unlisted Spice Televentures — to form a new entity Spice Mobility that will invest Rs 1000 crore over the next two years. The move comes almost 18 months after Modi sold his telecom service providing business to Idea Cellular of Birlas for over Rs 2500 crore. Spice Mobiles has presence in neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh. (ToI)
