privateequity

Alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has held the first closing of its RMB Fund, which is now ready to invest.

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Reliance MediaWorks has offered to buy a majority stake in multiplex operator Inox Leisure in an attempt to end a prolonged tussle between the two companies over a smaller cinema chain. Two persons close to the development said the company, owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, has offered Rs 120 for every share to the owners of Inox, valuing the company at a little over Rs 740 crore. But the two sides were still talking about valuation and a final agreement had not been reached, the people close to the deal said. The owners of Inox — the Delhi-based Jain family who also own Gujarat Fluorochemicals — are holding out for a higher price, said to be around `140, they said. The Jain family owns just under 67% of Inox.

Yorkville Advisors, the alternative investment firm, has completed its 20th standby equity distribution agreement, a proprietary equity financing, for 2010.

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US-based mobile chip maker Qualcomm today sold 26 per cent stake in its Indian broadband unit to Tulip Telecom and Global Holdings for USD 57.72 million (about Rs 268 crore). Telecom networking firm Tulip Telecom and Global Holdings, owners of telecom infrastructure firms GTL Ltd and GTL Infra, have bought 13 per cent each for a combined value of USD 57.72 million (about Rs 268 crore). Qualcomm now holds 74 per cent in the yet-to-be named unit and has sold the stake to conform with FDI rules under which telecom companies in the country should have a minimum of 26 per cent Indian holding.

Bangalore-based real estate company Century Real Estate is planning to raise close to $50 million from private equity players to fund its Rs 900 crore project in the city. The project, coming up in northern Bangalore, will be spread over 20 acres. Industry sources said, the property would come up on an area of 3 million sq ft with a mix of commercial and residential segments. However, the time frame for this fund raising activity is not clear with the structure of the proposed deal.

Gold loan company, Muthoot Finance, has raised Rs 157 crore by issuing shares to the extent of 4% of the firm’s capital to private equity firms Baring Equity Partners India and Matrix partners India. Both the private equity firms now have a 2% stake each in the company, which is valued at $1 billion in terms of the present deal, said KP Padmakumar, executive director of Muthoot Finance. The capital has been raised for meeting capital adequacy and business growth. Following the infusion of fresh capital, the company’s capital adequacy ratio has improved to 17%. Muthoot’s assets grew by Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 8,000 crore in the first quarter and is expected to touch the Rs 15,000-crore mark by FY11. The NBFC eventually plans to go public.

Baring Private Equity Partners (India) Pvt. Ltd (BPEP), the private equity (PE) fund which has traditionally invested in the information technology (IT), healthcare and financial services space, is now planning investments in real estate. "Apart from the other sectors, real estate will be our new focus," said Rahul Bhasin, managing partner, BPEP India. On Thursday, BPEP India along with Matrix Partners India invested Rs157 crore in gold loan company Muthoot Finance Ltd. In March, it hired Varun Batra, managing director and head of Citigroup India's global special situations group, to spearhead its initiative in real estate.

Hedge fund Soros Fund Management is on the verge of taking a stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The New York-based firm is in final talks with Dubai Holdings, which wants to offload its own 4% stake in the Indian bourse. Soros plans to pay about $40 million for the stake, the Financial Times reports. The move comes amid signs of disagreement between the BSE and the Singapore Stock Exchange, which also owns 4% of the Mumbai exchange. The SGX recently gave up its board seat at the BSE, and has been looking to partner more closely with the BSE’s chief rival, the National Stock Exchange of India, which is significantly larger.

Ashok Leyland Ltd., the flagship company of the London-based Hinduja Group announced today that it had reached agreement with Optare plc, a leading bus manufacturer in the UK, to subscribe for a 26 percent stake as a part of long-term strategic cooperation. The investment is estimated at about USD 7.5 million. The deal is expected to further benefit Ashok Leyland in its endeavour to accelerate technology, new product development and to address new markets. Optare, founded in 1985, has a turnover of about USD 125 million. Optare has been recognised for its innovative, weight optimised 'Low Carbon' range of low-floor, mid-size buses as well as a modern range of city buses. Optare has been a pioneer of the low-floor double-decker in the UK. Their new electric bus product has already secured several orders as more countries in Europe promote cleaner, greener mobility.

Bahrain Telecommunications plans to raise its holdings in local communications firm S Tel has been rejected by the Indian government, officials with direct knowledge of the developments told ET. Earlier this year, Bahrain Telecommunications had sought approval to hike its nearly 42% stake in S Tel by an additional 6.3% more for about $53 mn. If the deal had taken place, S Tel’s foreign holding would have risen to 54.61% because another foreign entity - Mauritius-based Telecom Investment Private already has a 5.6% stake in the telco. After deliberating the proposal for nearly six months, the India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the nodal agency for clearing all major foreign investments, rejected it in its last meet on July 12 on security grounds, documents available with ET reveal.

IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on July 30, 2010, has granted its approval to the Company to acquire the shares of Saffron Assets Advisors Pvt. Ltd. ("SAAPL") an, Indian entity, from Saffron Capital Securities Ltd. ("SCSL"), a Mauritius entity, thus making it a subsidiary of the Company. Further the Board has granted its approval to merge SCSL and its wholly owned subsidiary Saffron Capital Advisors Ltd. ("SCAL"), a Mauritius entity, into IL&FS Investment Advisors LLC ("IIAL"), the Company's wholly owned subsidiary in Mauritius. This merger would not in any manner dilute the Company's beneficial interest in IIAL.

A roundup of the morning's private equity-related news.

Xtreme Power, a provider of power resources for utility-scale power management and energy storage systems, has closed a USD29.5m financing round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, The Dow Chemical Company through its venture capital group, and existing investor Sail Venture Partners.

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Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has entered the UK residential market with the GBP40m acquisition of a development site in the heart of Chelsea in a 50:50 joint venture with the Athos Group. 

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The State Street Private Equity Index posted a 2.22 per cent return for the quarter ending 31 March 2010, 372 basis points lower than the fourth quarter of 2009 return and 868 basis points higher than the return recorded during the year ago period. 

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Investment bank Tully & Holland has advised Burris Logistics, North America's seventh largest refrigerated warehouse and distribution company, in the sale of selected assets to Cloverleaf Cold Storage.

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Vector Capital, a private equity firm specialising in the technology sector, has completed its acquisition of Trafficmaster in a take-private transaction valued at approximately USD145m.

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Salamanca Capital Investments, the Mayfair-based investment advisory business and part of the Salamanca Group, has acquired Barcelona Marina. 

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Advent Software, a provider of software and services for the investment management industry, is making Capital IQ and Tamale RMS data available via a single dashboard view.

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Interactive Data, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related solutions, has been acquired by investment funds managed by Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus.

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