In the deals space, the week gone by saw companies operating across sectors as diverse as finance, agriculture and cosmetics raised funding.
Consumer finance company Hero FinCorp raised $104 million in private equity investment jointly from ChrysCapital and Credit Suisse, while Seedworks International, a Hyderabad-based producer of hybrid seeds, got an investment of $40 million from India Value Fund Advisors.
Mumbai’s online beauty retailer Nykaa, founded in 2012 by former Kotak Mahindra managing director Falguni Nayar, raised $12 million in venture capital from a series of investors including Sunil Munjal, former joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp and from TVS Capital.
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The merger & acquisition (M&A) space saw two big-ticket deals during the week- one in the energy sector and the other in telecom sector. Government-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of exploration major ONGC Ltd, raised its stake in the Siberian Vankor oilfield from 15% to 26% in a $900 million deal it signed with the Russian government owned Rosneft. Last year, OVL had bought a 15% stake for $1.268 billion. This is being seen as an acquisition of strategic importance for India’s energy security, and will increase OVL’s production by 30%.
The other major deal of the week was the merger between Anil Ambani owned telecom company Reliance Communications’ wireless business with Aircel, promoted by Malaysia’s Maxis Communications along with the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals. The merger, which will create the country’s third largest telecom network by subscriber base is being seen as sign of consolidation in the telecom sector as it comes following the launch of Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries Ltd launching its 4G network Reliance Jio, which is offering tariffs that are likely to disrupt the industry.
In the fin-tech space, South African internet company Nasper-owned online payments operator PayU acquired payment gateway Citrus Pay for $130 million.
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