Weekly Economic and Corporate Deals

1. Top Headlines
Essel Finance appoints Abhinav Bhushan as head of realty
fund business
SKS Microfinance completes fresh securitisation worth
$26M.
Manipal Health plans to buy a hospital each in Mumbai and
Delhi.
Garcha Hotels to invest $100M in Indian hotel sector.
EBay leads $134M funding round in Snapdeal.
HDFC PMS to raise $242M domestic realty fund.
L&T to sell thermal power plant in Rajpura.
Titan signs JV pact with Montblanc for single brand retail.
Hitachi to acquire 76% stake in IT firm Micro Clinic India.
Bharti Retail appoints Walmart’s Craig Wimsatt as advisor
Inside The Story
Essel Finance appoints Abhinav Bhushan as head of realty
fund business
Essel Finance, the financial services arm of the Subhash Chandrapromoted diversified business conglomerate, has moved its investment
banking unit chief Abhinav Bhushan as the head of its real estate fund
business. This follows the exit of Amit Goenka, the former head of Essel
Finance who was also looking after the real estate fund management
business, a few weeks ago. Amitabh Chaturvedi, who joined as the new
chief of Essel Finance in December, told the newspaper that the
company is now looking to appoint a new head for the investment
banking unit called Capstar.
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2. SKS Microfinance completes fresh securitisation worth
$26M.
Public-listed microlender SKS Microfinance Ltd has completed a
securitisation worth Rs 162.62 crore ($26.2 million), as per a stock
market disclosure.This is the eighth microfinance securitisation during
this financial year and the fourth since January 1 by SKS. The latest
tranche takes the total to Rs 1,270.91 crore since April 2013.SKS
completed two more securitisation deals worth Rs 158.27 crore and Rs
222.65 crore respectively early this month following the fifth
securitisation worth Rs 55.56 crore last month. It completed three
securitisation deals worth around Rs 351 crore in December 2013 after
tying the first transaction worth Rs 321 crore in September 2013.
Manipal Health plans to buy a hospital each in Mumbai and
Delhi.
India's third-largest hospital chain Manipal Health is close to buying a
hospital each in Mumbai and Delhi as part of its aggressive expansion
plan in the coming six months. The deals will be finalized before May,
two executives of the privately held firm said, declining to identify
which hospitals they are in negotiations with. Bangalore-based Manipal
Health, part of Manipal Education and Medical Group, has drawn an
outlay of INR 1,200 crore ($193 million) as it closes on its buyout of an
existing 250-300 bed hospital each in Mumbai and Delhi, and build four
news hospitals, starting August. One of the executives said that the
group "is already in the process of tying-up for the land and buildings"
and a deal is expected to be signed in the coming "two three months".
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3. Garcha Hotels to invest $100M in Indian hotel sector.
Singapore-based company Garcha Hotels is looking at entering the
Indian market and planning to invest $100 million for it, the founder of
the company was recently quoted in media reports.According to
Satinder Garcha, the company would be targeting tier I cities like
Mumbai and Delhi to enter the Indian market.The company at present is
waiting for its properties in Singapore and Santiago to become fully
operational. In India, Garcha Hotels would build properties with 50-200
rooms.Till now, the company has invested $250 million in Singapore
market, Garcha said.
EBay leads $134M funding round in Snapdeal.
Delhi-based Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd, which runs the online marketplace
Snapdeal.com, has raised $133.77 million (Rs 830 crore) led by existing
investor eBay Inc with participation from other existing investors, in the
third-biggest funding round in an Indian tech firm.The new funding
comes less than a year after it scooped $50 million from eBay, Japan’s
Recruit Holdings, Intel Capital, Russian venture fund ru-Net and Saama
Capital. This round also saw participation from existing investors
Bessemer Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital
(erstwhile Indo-US Venture Partners).
HDFC PMS to raise $242M domestic realty fund.
HDFC PMS, an arm of the HDFC Asset Management Company or HDFC
AMC, will launch its domestic realty fund of Rs 1,500 crore this year,
sources privy to the development said.The fund headed by Vipul Rungta
will raise the capital to invest in residential asset class. It will chase
deals in top tier cities which include Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore,
Chennai and Pune, sources add.The fund has been in the works since
last year and has been waiting for an opportune time to hit the market
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4. And raise capital, said one of the sources. HDFC AMC Real Estate AIF
received approval to set up an alternative investment vehicle to invest
in realty asset class around one year ago.
L&T to sell thermal power plant in Rajpura.
Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), India’s largest construction and
engineering company, is likely to sell its 1,400 megawatt (MW) thermal
power plant worth INR 9,600 crore ($ 5,932 billion) in Punjab once it
becomes fully operational, as part of a plan to divest assets not central
to its main businesses, several people close the development. The
Rajpura plant is the only power project of L&T that’s being built by its
wholly owned unit Nabha Power Ltd. “As per schedule, it
(commissioning of the second unit) is in April, but we are trying to do it
in March,” Shailendra Roy, whole-time director at L&T, was quoted as
saying by the Press Trust of India at the inauguration of the first unit in
December
Titan signs JV pact with Montblanc for single brand retail.
Watches and jewellery maker Titan Company Ltd has inked a joint
venture agreement with luxury products maker Montblanc to open
single brand retail outlets in the country. Montblanc is known for its
writing instruments but has over the years expanded its product
portfolio with addition of watches, jewellery fragrance, eyewear and
other lifestyle accessories.Interestingly, the pact comes even as 100 per
cent foreign investment is allowed in single brand retail. It is not clear if
Titan will hold a minority or majority stake in the venture.It would mark
an extension of Titan’s existing business and would add to its line of
products which straddles roughly the same product baskets, barring
writing instruments.
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5. Hitachi to acquire 76% stake in IT firm Micro Clinic India.
Japanese engineering and electronics conglomerate Hitachi Ltd, though
its subsidiary Hitachi Systems Ltd, has signed a share purchase
agreement to acquire 76 per cent in Delhi-based Micro Clinic India Pvt
Ltd for an undisclosed amount.The deal is aimed to be completed by
next month and post-acquisition, Micro Clinic will be renamed as
Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic Pvt Ltd. Both the companies will work
closely with the Hitachi Group companies in India to expand the IT
services business in the country.
Bharti Retail appoints Walmart’s Craig Wimsatt as advisor
Bharti Retail, the privately held retailing arm of Bharti Enterprises Ltd,
has roped in Craig Wimsatt from Wal-Mart Stores Inc as an advisor, The
Economic Times reported.The report added citing sources that the
appointment is linked to Bharti Enterprises scouting for new
international partners for the retail business.Wimsatt comes on board
as number two to new chief of Bharti Retail Raj Jain, the former head of
Walmart in India.Wimsatt joined Bharti Retail early this month and had
previously served two years as the COO of Bharti Walmart joint venture.
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