Reckitt Benckiser Set To Buy Paras - UK-based company Reckitt Benckiser is all set to buy Ahmedabad-based Paras Pharmaceuticals for Rs 3,000-3,500 crore and will be announced in the next few days. The unlisted Reckitt Benckiser has been scouting for local acquisitions for about four years now, and the Paras brands would make an ideal fit to the company’s portfolio. Reckitt makes Dettol antiseptic soap, Mortein mosquito repellent and Cherry Blossom shoe polish. (Economic Times)
VenturEast To Raise $200M Fund - VenturEast, a venture capital and private equity firm, is planning to launch a new fund of $200 million next year. The fund will look at investing in three areas—agriculture & food processing, clean environment and healthcare. Nearly one-third of the target corpus has already been tied up, with the balance expected to flow in shortly. (ET)
Patni Bidders Line Up Debt - The two remaining contenders for acquisition of Patni Computer Systems, the PE consortium of Carlyle Group with Advent International and iGate Corporation in tandem with Apax Partners, have firmed up debt of around $600 million each. The talks for the $1 billion leveraged may have entered the final ten days. (Times of India)
Future, Carrefour May Sign Franchisee Agreement - Ngotiations between Future Group and French retailer Carrefour may lead to a toned down joint venture agreement with no equity component. With no sign of multi-brand retailing being opened to foreign direct investment (FDI), a franchise agreement between the two seems to be a viable alternative and the world’s second-largest retailer will automatically get equity in Pantaloon Retail after FDI is opened up. (Business Standard)
Great Lakes In Talks With Tatas, Godrej To Sell 51% - Bala V Balachandran, founder & dean of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, is in talks with Tata Foundation and Pirojsha Godrej Foundation to sell nearly 51% stake in his institute. The valuation of the institute would be around Rs 220 crore. Great Lakes was formed in 2002 as a Section-25 company. Section-25 companies are those formed for the purpose of promoting commerce, art, science, religion, charity. (BS)
Holcim Buys Ambuja Shares Worth Rs 238Cr - Swiss cement maker Holcim, which owns Ambuja Cements, has bought 22 lakh shares of ACC from the open market for Rs 238 crore. The promoters of ACC — Ambuja Cement India Pvt Ltd with 45.91% stake and Holderind Investments Ltd with 0.29% — together hold 46.2% of the company. Following the block deal, which was brokered at Rs1,074.54 per share, the promoter holding in ACC will further increase by 1.18%. (DNA)
IOC Offer Not This Fiscal - The Union government has shelved the follow-on public offering (FPO) of shares in state-owned Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), the country’s biggest oil refiner and marketeer, this fiscal because of a surge in the price of crude oil to the highest level in two years. The government had planned to raise Rs.20,000 crore through the FPO, the biggest by an Indian entity. (Mint)
Sun Pharma Eyes $300M US Buyout - Fresh after its long-winding but successful acquisition of Israel's Taro Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma is looking at another buyout. This one is expected to be upwards of $300 million and would be in the US, the largest market for generic companies.
The company has a war chest of $700 million. (ToI)
Tata International To Buy Tamil Nadu's Bachi Shoes - Noel Tata's Tata International is planning to acquire a 74% stake in Tamil Nadu-based Bachi Shoes, which is a significant player in the finished leather and footwear exports. The Rs 1,000-crore trading company may be investing over Rs 130 crore for picking up majority shares, while the Bachi family would remain in active management with a sizeable stake. (ToI)