Bank of Baroda To Acquire Botswana Bank For $100M - Bank of Baroda, the third largest public sector bank is planning to acquire a bank in Botswana in what will be its first overseas acquisition. The size of the deal is expected to be around $100 million. The bank will acquire the new bank through a subsidiary. (Financial Express)
Haldia Petro Eyes Debt Repayment - Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), which has a debt burden of Rs 2,500 crore in its books, has sought a one-year moratorium on loan repayment from its lenders. The move has been prompted by a sharp increase in feedstock cost and a lower price recovery in polymers. HPL is also in active discussions with lenders, led by IDBI , to renegotiate interest rate on its loans. (Economic Times)
SAIF Partners To Up Stake In Speciality Restaurants - Private equity firm Saif Partners is in preliminary talks to increase its stake in Mumbai-based food services company Speciality Restaurants to 20% from 12% currently. Speciality Restaurants, promoted by Anjan Chatterjee, owns fine dining restaurant chains such as Mainland China and Oh!Calcutta. Saif picked up about 12% stake in the company in early 2008 and had then valued the company at about Rs 450 crore. (Economic Times)
IOT Infrastructure Plans Rs 800Cr IPO - Turbulent market conditions have forced Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) co-promoted oil EPC firm, IOT Infrastructure and Energy Services , to rejig the timing of its Rs 800-crore IPO, but the company said it is confident of launching the issue before March. The firm, which started as a dedicated player in oil tanking services in 1998 as an equal joint venture between IOC and German company Oil Tanking GmBH, is ready with all the required permissions. (Economic Times)
PowerGrid Rs 10,000Cr Bond Issue - PowerGrid, the country’s largest transmission firm, plans to issue domestic bonds for about Rs 10,000 crore in 2011-12 to meet its expansion needs. It has planned a 50% increase in its capital expenditure to Rs 18,000 crore for the next year. The company may also go in for another follow-on public offer (FPO). It will raise about Rs 10,000 crore in phases through domestic bonds in the next fiscal year. (Business Standard)
Hindalco's Novelis Close To Selling Britain Plant - Novelis, part of Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries, is close to selling at least a part of its Bridgnorth foil plant in Britain, which it had decided to shut down by the end of April. Three companies are conducting due diligence at the site. Novelis, in a statement on December 14, 2010, had said the company would cease operations of foil rolling at Bridgnorth and part of the packaging business on the same site, by the end of April 2011. (Business Standard)
Citigroup To Sell CitiFinancial - Citigroup is looking for buyers for CitiFinancial, the largest consumer finance company in the US, a move that would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the banking behemoth. Citi had been contacting potential buyers for CitiFinancial. Citigroup resorted to restructuring that saw its businesses being split into two -- Citicorp and Citi Holdings. CitiFinancial is part of Citi Holdings, a collectio of Citi’s non-core businesses. The entity has more than 1,500 branches and about two million customers. (Mint)