Matrix May Invest Rs 70Cr In Soham Renewable - Matrix Partners, a private equity firm from the US, is in talks to buy a 20% stake in Soham Renewable Energy India for Rs 70 crore, valuing the company at Rs 350 crore. Soham Renewable Energy plans to produce power from hydro resources. The other private equity investors in the company are DE Shaw, FE Clean Energy and Praxair India. Soham has an installed capacity of 22 mega watts in Karnataka. It also has five hydro power projects under construction. (Economic Times)
Oman Investment Fund To Buy 5% In UCX - Oman Investment Fund (OIF), a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) owned by the Omani government, may buy close to 5% in upcoming Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX). The deal, if completed, will value the yet-to-be-launched UCX at Rs 400-500 crore, around 30% lower than that of NCDEX, India's second-largest commodity exchange (commex), promoted by Delhi-based broker Jaypee Capital Services and leading sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars. (Economic Times)
SAIF Invests $4M In FirstCry.Com - SAIF Partners has invested $4 million in an online store called FirstCry.com that sells baby products and toys-its fifth investment in an e-commerce firm. Eight-month-old BrainBees Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which runs the website, will use the money to expand its team and build warehouses. BrainBees' co-founder is Supam Maheshwari, who previously sold Brainvisa Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a company he had co-founded, to Indecomm Global Services in 2007. BrainBees was started with $200,000 from the promoters. The company is targeting at monthly revenue of more than $1 million by March 2012. (Mint)
Jayesh Desai To Be Interim Unitech Wireless Chairman - Jayesh Desai, CEO of Unitech Infrastructure, is expected to be appointed interim chairman of the Board of Directors of Unitech Wireless, following the arrest of Sanjay Chandra in the 2G spectrum case last week. Desai’s appointment has to be cleared in the meeting of board of directors of Unitech Wireless tomorrow. Norway’s Telenor holds a majority stake in the joint venture with Unitech. The Telenor Group today welcomed the replacement. (Business Standard)
SARE Invests In Rs 250Cr Project - Real estate-centric foreign direct investment (FDI) fund South Asian Real Estate (Sare) and Punjab-based Impact Projects would invest Rs 250 crore to develop an integrated township in Amritsar. The township would be spread over 104 acres and comprise of low rise towers, independent villas and other amenities — security, health care, education, transport, communication and entertainment.(Business Standard)
Starwood In Talks To Invest Rs 500Cr IN Omkar Realtors - US-based private-equity firm Starwood Capital is in talks with Mumbai-based Omkar Realtors & Developers to buy a 10% stake in the company. The stake is estimated to be worth Rs 500 crore. The proposed deal values the real estate firm, executing redevelopment projects in Mumbai city and its suburbs, at Rs 5,000 crore. (Economic Times)
Aqua To Buy Majority In Nikko Logistics - Aqua Logistics Ltd. will buy a majority stake in Bangalore-based freight-forwarding company Nikkos Logistics Pvt. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. This will be the cargo transportation-and-distribution company's fifth acquisition in 13 months. Aqua will acquire up to 70% stake in Nikkos Logistics over a period of time. (Wall Street Journal)
BNP May Hike Stake In Brokerage JV - BNP Paribas, Europe's largest bank, may raise stake in its domestic brokerage joint venture BNP Paribas Financial Services either through new issue of shares, or by buying from the secondary market. The third option considered is to buy from Indian promoters. BNP owns 34% stake in the Kochi-based Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. George, along with his family members, hold around 20%. (Economic Times)