HDFC, Anand Jain fund to sell 55% stake in Chennai township for Rs 800 crore: Anand Jain led Urban Infrastructure Opportunities Fund (UIOF) and HDFC Property Fund are putting a mega township project in Chennai on the block, with an asking price of Rs 800 crore ($127 million) for their 55% stake, people directly aware of the matter said. UIOF, backed by Mukesh Ambani's close associate Anand Jain, and HDFC currently have a 30% and 25% stake respectively in the 5-million sqft mixed-use project Metrozone, being built on a 42-acre land parcel, in Chennai's suburb of Annanagar. However, the new investors would hold a 65% stake, picking up a further 10%, once Metrozone completes an additional 33 acre juxtaposed land parcel in the coming weeks. Bangalore based Ozone Group, which is the developer, holds the remaining 35% shares. (TheTimes of India)
Three private equity funds are in independent talks to purchase rival ChrysCapital's 10% stake in Ahmedabad based drugmaker Intas Pharmaceuticals for about $150 million or Rs 940 crore, three people with direct knowledge of the development said. Temasek, GIC and Capital International are vying for the stake, an investment banker said. Chrys-Capital is looking to sell part of its 16.5% stake after Intas Pharma postponed its initial public offering due to muted market conditions. (The Economic Times)
Kochi Metro, AFD to ink loan pact: French foreign development aid agency Agence Francaise de Developpemente (AFD) and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd will sign an agreement on February 8 for financing the 25-km Kochi metro project . A KMRL board meeting, chaired by Union Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna, on Monday decided to take the AFD’s loan offer of $246 million (around Rs 1,500 crore) for the Rs 5,337-crore metro project. The loan has a 20-year repayment schedule and five-year grace period. (Business Line)
JSPL leads race to buy Stemcor India business for over $1 billion: Sources with direct knowledge suggest that JSPL is leading the race to buy Stemcor's India business for a little over $1 billion (Rs 6,281 crore). Stemcor may be reviving exclusive deal talks with JSPL and partners who are the erstwhile management team of Stemcor India. JSPL wants to buy Stemcor's Odisha-based iron ore mine, beneficiation and pelletisation units. In the recent bids conducted by Stemcor, it received lower than expected bids from JSW Steel, Birla Group of around $700-800 million. (The Economic Times)
REC invites bids to raise at least Rs 5 bn via bonds: Rural Electrification Corp Ltd (REC) has invited bids on Wednesday to raise at least Rs 5 billion ($79.06 million) through an issue of five-year bonds, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said. REC bond sale will follow an issuance by Power Finance Corp soon after the central bank unexpectedly riased repo rate by 25 basis points to dampen inflation. ()
Global funds hot on Axis Bank share sale: Several global investors, including mutual funds (MFs) and sovereign wealth funds, are vying for a pie of the government’s holdings in Axis Bank, held by Specified Undertaking of UTI (Suuti). Marquee names, including the government of Singapore, Halbis Capital, T Rowe Price, Capital International, Deutsche Asset Management, Fidelity, Templeton and Aberdeen, have evinced interest on buying a stake in India’s third largest private lender, said sources. The government is planning to sell approximately half its 20.72% holdings in Axis. (Business Standard)
Intel Capital says high appetite for India: Amid improving macro economy and strengthening information technology (IT) products ecosystem in India, Intel Capital, the investment arm of US-based chip-maker Intel Corporation, says it has a “very active appetite†to do deals in 2014. The firm had invested in six Indian companies during 2013. Even as Intel Capital has no set amount of money that it would invest or any targeted number of deals it wishes to close during the year, the firm is likely to match the kind of investments it made in 2013, Bhavanipratap Rana, director India at Intel Capital said. In 2013, Intel Capital had said it would invest $16 million (around Rs 101 crore) in three e-commerce ventures across Asia, including two Indian firms Bright Lifecare and Snapdeal. (Business Standard)
BigDecisions.in plans to raise first institutional funding by end of this quarter: BigDecisions.in, launched by Mumbai-based firm Findirect Services, is likely to raise Rs 2 crore by the end of this quarter. It's their first institutional funding. At present, the one-year old company is self-funded. Till now, the promoters have put in Rs 25-30 lakh. The promoters Manish Shah, an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and Gaurav Roy, alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur are in discussions with several early stage investors. (Business Standard)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
