ArcelorMittal to raise $4 bn via public offerings

Steel behemoth ArcelorMittal, which posted consecutive quarterly losses, today said it would raise up to $4 billion through issue of securities as part of efforts to strengthen its balance sheet among other things. The company would look to sell about 140 million common shares through public offerings to raise the amount. "Total aggregate proceeds from the offerings are about $3.5 billion or $4 billion, in each case before deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions," the company said in a statement. The company intends to use the proceeds of common stock offering for general corporate purposes and to strengthen its balance sheet and the proceeds of the convertible senior note offering to lengthen its debt maturity profile and refinance existing indebtedness, it added. ArcelorMittal also said it would be pricing its public offering of $700 million aggregate principal amount of 5 per cent convertible senior notes due May 15, 2014. The offering is scheduled to close on May 6, 2009, it added. The steel giant said it has agreed to sell 125.1 million common shares at a public offering price of euro 17.10 each. The company has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 15.7 million common shares in the 30 day period following the date here of, it added. ArcelorMittal yesterday posted loss of $1.1 billion for the first quarter ended March 2009. In the year-ago period, it had a net income of $2.4 billion.

Source: Business Standard

Govt gets more sovereign fund proposals from Middle-East

After setting up a sovereign fund with Oman, the government is now understood to be in talks with other Middle-East countries to set up a similar fund. As part of the initiative, the government has already finalised details for another multi-billion dollar joint investment fund with Qatar. Bankers feel that given the liquidity crunch faced by the infrastructure sector, these sovereign funds would offer it a fresh lease of life. Given the growing infrastructural requirements, these funds would help enhance market liquidity and facilitate a more efficient allocation of resources. A senior finance ministry official, who refused to be identified, said that the government is currently examining proposals from other Gulf countries as well. "There have been similar requests. The approval would depend on the nature of the fund and the bilateral relations between the two countries," the official said. According to the official, the rush is due to the fact that the Middle-East countries are flush with funds and India is an exciting destination. Already, the government has chosen a public sector entity, State Bank of India (SBI), to act as nodal agency for operating the joint investment fund with Oman and Qatar. Earlier this year, the government had signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oman government to that effect. When contacted, State Bank of India chairman O P Bhatt told SundayET that such a proposal is being worked out with Oman. However, he refused to share details saying, "it's too early to divulge anything." The multi-billion dollar joint investment fund with Qatar will explore investments in the infrastructure sector in the two countries. An economist said the Middle-East countries are in a position to invest, thanks to the petro dollars. "These nations have deep pockets. The countries in the Middle-East now want to diversify their risks and invest outside the West, where traditionally they've been a large investor," he said. The Middle-East boasts of some of the biggest Sovereign Wealth Funds in the world. The biggest one is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, with $875 billion in assets under management. The Oman and Indian governments' $100 million Joint Investment Fund intends to invest in core infrastructure and real estate sectors.

BlueRun Raises Fund IV; To Increase Investments in India

BlueRun Ventures has raised its fourth fund of little more than $240 million, falling short of the $300 million target. VentureBeat reports that the fund plans to ramp up its operations in Asia by adding two more people in India and China. It also plans to increase the allocation to both these markets, the report adds. BlueRun, formerly known as Nokia Venture Partners, has an office in Mumbai. Sasha Mirchandani, a senior investment director with the VC firm, looks after its activities in the country. Earlier this year he told VCCircle that BlueRun is looking at investments in value-added services, telecom, media & entertainment, education and cleantech sectors. In another development, BlueRun has closed its office in Israel, citing the small size of the market. BlueRun's investments include PayPal. It has offices in US, Norway, China and Korea, besides India. The venture fund, Nokia Venture Partners, had made several investments in the country including Bangalore-based Sasken Communication Technologies.
BlueRun has cut its team by two and a half partners as one of its partners, Sujit Banerjee, is being shared with another VC firm in Element Partners. Banerjee will bring cleantech deals to Element, and semiconductor deals to BlueRun.

Source: VCCIRCLE

Indiabulls to raise $600 mn for power projects

The QIP is expected to be a precursor to the IPO. Property developer Indiabulls Real Estate (IBREL) today said its board had approved a plan to raise $600 million (Rs 3,000 crore) through qualified institutional placement (QIP) of securities.

Investment banking sources said the company was expected to use the QIP proceeds to fund its power projects, mainly a 1,320-megawatt project planned in Amaravati in Maharashtra.
The QIP was expected to be a precursor to the initial public issue (IPO) being planned by the company, sources said.

The company had called an extraordinary general meeting on May 18 to seek shareholder nod, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. Gagan Banga, spokesperson for the Indiabulls group, said: “It is just an enabling provision to be able to raise equity or debt at an appropriate time. As management, we want to take shareholder approval to raise funds.”

Indiabulls Power Services had raised Rs 1,600 crore last year from LN Mittal and Farallon Capital by divesting 28.6 per cent equity to pursue its plans in the power sector. The company plans to build two mega thermal power plants in Maharashtra with an aggregate capacity of 3,960 Mw. It also has a memorandum of understanding with the government of Arunachal Pradesh to construct four medium-sized hydro electric projects in the state.

Indiabulls Power Generation Ltd (IPGL) has plans to set up a pit-head coal-fired Bhaiyathan thermal power project in Chhattisgarh. Indiabulls Power Services had won the bid for the 1,600 Mw Bhaiyathan project and a 350-million tonne coal block in Chhattisgarh, defeating ten leading power producers, including Reliance Power and Tata Power.

Source: Business Standard

IDBI Bank in talks with government for rights issue

IDBI Bank is in discussions with the Government to examine various fund raising options including a rights issue to fuel its expansion plans in the next two-three years, a top official of the bank said on Friday. "We have approached the Government to evaluate various options including a rights issue to meet the capital requirements in the next 2-3 years," IDBI Bank's Chief Financial Officer R K Bansal said. IDBI Bank's fund requirement over the next 2-3 years will be around Rs 7,000 crore, that would help the banking major to finance its growth plans including overseas expansion, Bansal said. The bank is also considering Tier-I and Tier-II routes to raise funds, Bansal said. Government owns nearly 53 per cent stake in the bank. IDBI Bank has targeted a loan growth of 20 per cent in the current fiscal. It has a capital adequacy ratio of 11.57 per cent.

Source: Economic Times

VenturEast raising eighth fund; To focus on Non-Metros

Venture capital investor VenturEast has started raising its eighth fund, VenturEast Life Fund III LLC, focusing on high-growth small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The fund has applied to World Bank's private equity arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) for commitments of upto 20% of the total commitments raised. The target size of the fund is not known.
When VCCircle contacted Sarath Naru, the founder and managing partner of VenturEast, he said target size is still under discussion. On being asked to comment on this development, he quipped that there is no "development" till the first close is done.

IFC was also an investor in $150 million VenturEast Proactive fund. The two organizations also recently came together with Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust to launch $5 million microequity fund, to provide equity-like support to small and disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
Interestingly, VenturEast Life Fund is looking at mezzanine investments besides equity and equity-related investments. The fund will also focus on investments outside main Indian metros, which is Tier II, Tier III cities and rural India. The new fund will look at areas like healthcare delivery, pharma related companies, food & agriculture and cleantech.
The new fund will be managed by VenturEast Mauritius Investment Advisors and APIDC Venture Capital Private Limited. APIDC VC was started as a joint venture between Dynam Ventureast Private Ltd, which held a 51% stake and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corp. Ltd (APIDC), which held the remaining stake. The fund was later privatized with APIDC holding only 1% stake.

The fund will also raise monies from domestic institutions simultaneously in a different entity. VenturEast, one of the oldest fund managers in the country, has raised capital from investors like UK-government backed fund-of-funds CDC, US-based Argonaut Private Equity, Saudi Economic and Development Co., Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) and internet giant Google for its earlier funds.

Several private and venture capital funds are looking at investing in rural economy. This area is a relatively underserved segment of the market and is witnessing an increasing growth in demand for goods and consumer products. Till now PE & VC funds in India have mainly focused on opportunities serving urban spending.

Many of the recent private equity deals have been in rural segment, especially in food and agriculture based firms. Zephyr Peacock, which raising its second fund targeting $75 million, is also looking at this area.

Source: VCCIRCLE

Lazard seeks FIPB nod to launch Venture Cap fund in India

Lazard Group is learnt to have seeking Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) nod to launch Venture Capital fund in India. Lazard will start Lazard India Growth Fund based out of Mauritius and will invest USD 25 million as part of sponsor commitment. The Fund primarily is looking to invest into mid market companies especially in infrastructure and some of the other growth areas.Lazard Group will also approach IL&FS to act as trustee to the fund.
On similar lines, Nomura is also seeking FIPB nod to start proprietary trading in India.

Source: CNBC

Adani Power files for IPO; 3i's Investment in positive zone

Adani Power, a part of Gautam Adani-led business conglomerate with interests spanning from FMCG to infrastructure, has approached the market regulator SEBI with a revised IPO plan, estimated to raise more than Rs 2,000 crore. This is the second time Adani Power is planning to come out with an initial public offer (IPO), as its previous attempt was scuttled due to adverse market conditions. In its revised draft prospectus filed with SEBI, Adani Power has proposed to sell over 330 million equity shares of Rs 10 face value each, which would account for about 15% of the company's post-issue equity capital. While the price of the shares to be offered in IPO would be decided later, the company has said in the draft prospectus that it expects to utilise Rs 2,193 crore of net proceeds from the public issue to fund its power projects - Mundra IV in Gujarat and Tiroda in Maharashtra.

What about 3i's investment?

With this development, it is now confirmed that UK-based 3i’s investment in Adani Power remains in the positive zone. The average cost of acquisition for 3i is pegged at Rs 59.5/share. Adani Power seeks to raise Rs 2,193 crore through the issue which would translate into per share price of around Rs 65-70 given that the issue comprises 33.05 crore shares including 80 lakh shares reserved for the employees. Though 3i would be sitting on profit at this valuation, looking at the opportunity cost of the fund(had it been invested in some debt instrument) it could have earned a higher return.

Earlier, the private equity fund had invested Rs 900 crore in Adani Power in two tranches-- October 2007 and April 2008. The PE firm subscribed to 8.4 crore shares as a result of these two transactions which now stands at 15.14 crore shares due to a 4:5 bonus issue at Adani Power last year. 3i holds 8.22% stake in Adani Power before the IPO which would become 6.92% post issue.

Source: Business Standard, VCCIRCLE

Morgan Stanley raises $1.14 Bn FOF; To Invest in emerging mkts

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) has said that its alternative asset arm has raised $1.14 billion in commitments for Morgan Stanley Private Markets Fund IV, a private equity fund of funds. Its strategy is to emphasize less efficient market segments and target managers with differentiated skill sets in the US, Western Europe and emerging private-equity markets. The firm has also recently opened up an office in Hong Kong.

"In today’s environment, distressed – including secondary purchases – and asset-backed strategies are especially attractive," said Tom Dorr, Chief Investment Officer, Private Equity Fund of Funds Team. The new fund, which is an increase of over 15% from the last fund, will make investments in primary funds, co-investments and direct secondaries.

Emerging markets are increasingly becoming attractive for limited partners (LPs). India ranks third in terms of attractiveness among emerging markets, after China and Brazil, said a recent survey by Emerging Markets Private Equity Association and Coller Capital. The survey added that 78% of the LPs with an exposure to emerging markets are now looking to increase their commitments. This is because most LPs believe that emerging market funds will give better returns developed market funds.

Fundraising has been increasingly getting tough as LPs are cutting commitments to the private equity asset class. Many fund managers have delayed their fund closing dates and are even trimming their fund size in order to reach a close.

Currently there are 78 India-focused funds on road in 2009 looking to raise $24 billion, according to data by Prequin. There are about 117 pan-Asia private equity funds - who have India as one of its geographies - on road currently targeting to raise an aggregate capital of $59.2 billion.

GVFL Raises Rs 100 Cr For Rs 250 Cr Fund; To Get Rs 60 Cr More

GVFL Ltd, which is currently raising its SME Technology Venture Fund with a target of Rs 250 crore, has achieved first close at Rs 100 crore. The fund will get another Rs 60 crore in next few months, the firm's interim Managing Director Mihir Joshi said in an interview to VCCircle. Joshi has been appointed after long standing MD Vishnu Varshney stepped down from his post. Joshi is heading the fund till a new MD is found.
GVFL has raised about Rs 133 crore over five funds till date, and the new fund is its sixth vehicle. The target size of the new fund is nearly more than double the size of all the previous five funds combined. The dramatic increase in the fund size is because the new fund will focus on growth capital investments.
Till now GVFL has focused on early stage deals, investing between Rs 2-10 crore per deal. With the new fund, its deal sizes will go up. GVFL raises most of its funds from domestic institutions and its limited partners include institutions like CDC, IDBI, SIDBI, World Bank and other private and public sector organizations.
Stepping Up Investments
GVFL now seems be looking to step up investments and Joshi believes that this is the best time to invest. "We may close 2-3 more deals in next one month," he added.
The fund is looking to do deals in areas like information technology, biotech and nano technology. It will look at areas like healthcare and education in the IT domain, said Joshi. Some of GVFL's recent deals were white light emitting diode (LED) solar lighting systems maker Pegasus Semiconductors. One of its portfolio firms, 20 Microns, also listed on exchanges in October last year, in which the firm offloaded a part stake.
GVFL is one of the most active and largest state government-backed venture capital firms in the country. Other such VC firms include Punjab Infotech Venture Fund, Kerala Venture Capital Fund, Hyderabad Information Technology Venture Enterprise Ltd, Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund, etc.

Och-Ziff Capital Management, Orient Global and Sandstone Capital invests in Unitech QIP

India's second-biggest real estate developer Unitech Ltd has raised $325 million through qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue. The funds have been raised by the real estate major to retire part of its over Rs 8,900 crore debt and strengthen the balance sheet.
The investors in the QIP include private equity hedge fund players like Och-Ziff Capital Management, Orient Global and Sandstone Capital, reports Business Standard. Other investors include HSBC and Prudential. Around 90% of the issue has been lapped up by overseasinstitutional investors, while the rest has been bought by domestic institutional investors.
The holdings of promoter Chandra family would fall to 51% after the QIP from 64%. The QIP has been issued at a price of Rs 38.50 per hare. Unitech was trading at Rs 51.5 today at 1 pm, reaching a days high of Rs 54.2. The deal is being touted as the largest QIP in realestate space and was advised by UBS AG's India unit and IDFC-SSKI Securities Ltd.
This is also the first QIP issue since market regulator SEBI allowed firms to fix the price based on the average price of two weeks. Earlier the period of average price calculation was 6 months. Theissue will reduce the debt to equity ratio of Unitech from 2.4 as of December 2008 to 1.4.

Actis Biologics To Raise $400M To Expand Across Asia

Mumbai-based biotech firm Actis Biologics is looking to raise $400 million to expand operations which is spread across India, US and Malaysia. It is in talks with a UK and a US-based fund to raise the first tranche of $250 million, reports said.
The firm is planning to raise $250 million to invest in Malaysia, $100 million for Indian operations and a further $50 million for the US. "We expect to raise $250 million in the next four months for the Malaysian project. Once that is in place, then we will look funds for the Indian and the US operations," Actis Biologics president PN Venugopalan told PTI according to this report.
It is not clear what would be the mode of the equity transaction, but it is unlikely that it would involve a plain vanilla deal in the parent firm. An earlier report in The Economic Times had quoted the privately held firm’s CEO as saying that the company was looking to sell 15% stake to private equity firm and was in discussions with three foreign players to raise Rs 125 crore through issue of fresh shares. This would have valued the company at Rs 833 crore ($165 million), much lower than what the company is looking to raise now. Given the state of markets it is unlikely that the firm can ask for a significant ramped up valuation within six months.
This earlier report in October 2008 had quoted Actis Biologics president PN Venugopalan as saying that he hoped to finalise a deal before the end of the year. The fund was to be used for a new plant to be built at Khopoli in Mumbai estimated to cost $9.5 million (approximately Rs 44 crore) besides meeting the company’s working capital requirement for the next 10 months.
Meanwhile, Venugopalan told PTI that the company will join hands with the Malaysian government to set up a biotech park called Biocity in Melaka, Malaysia. This project will cost $250 million and Actis Biologics has been allotted 270 acres of land for the project. To support biotech companies, Actis and the Malaysian government would set up a 50:50 JV firm in Malaysia.
Actis Biologics calls itself a biotech venture technology company focusing on the life science sector. It has set up two separate ventures with further subunits in India and Malaysia.
Actis Biologics Pvt Ltd has JVs with entrepreneurs in India to target discovery of new molecules through collaborations and/or internal research or to in-license promising targets. These ventures also seek to add value to the targets by accelerating the progression through the biopharma product life cycle while reducing costs by a significant margin. It also has a JV with Malaysian investors under the umbrella of Actis Biologics Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Actis Biologics has incorporated under its banner-- Kohinoor Biotech to focus on a Ribozyme tech platform, Aum Life Sciences to focus on development of various recombinant proteins and MABS Mercury Biotech for development of GeneTherapy based products, Deep Biotech for developing various immunotherapies. Actis Biologics Malaysia Sdn Bhd. has under its banner-- Telesto Diagnostics to develop CAD based diagnostics for various abnormalities and Cogenesis to develop novel respiratory products.

Top european fund likely to invest Rs300 crores in Sobha developers

Redevco, one of Europe’s largest real estate investment and development firms, with a $10 billion portfolio, is understood to be looking at investing around Rs 300 crore in various projects of Bangalore-based Sobha Developers. Redevco, part of the diversified Cafro Holdings, which is into private equity, retail, financial services and renewable energy, in addition to real estate development, set up office in India in late 2008. If the discussions with Sobha fructify, it will be its first investment in India. Investment banking sources indicated that Redevco has had initial discussions with the management of Sobha Developers, which is mired in debt like many of its peers. The investment, if it materialises, is expected to be tied up by September 2009, they say. Private equity investments into Indian real estate have been slowing over the past three quarters and this deal is expected to be a major one. While Redevco said it had nothing to comment, Sobha has been maintaining that it is in talks with various funds and nothing has been finalised. Over the past two quarters, Sobha has been aggressively looking at three options to reduce its debt burden of close to Rs 1,900 crore, a leverage of 1.6 times. The company, which has Infosys as one of its major clients, is looking to raise around Rs 850 crore by selling around 200 acres of its 3,000 acre land bank, offloading up to 49 percent stake through special purpose vehicles and to offload up to 25 percent stake at the enterprise level. Sobha is understood to have identified around 150 acres of land on which projects can be implemented through special purpose vehicles by divesting stakes. The company is also engaged with around 12 banks and financial institutions to restructure around Rs 850 crore of debt that will be due for payment during the next 18 months. Banking sources indicate Sobha has been able to get a nod for a part of that sum and talks are also on with mutual funds to roll over Rs 350 crore of debt.

DLF cannot raise money through new equity offering

Promoters of the company are holding more than 88% of the common stock. However they don't have option to raise money through equity. According to section 77A of the Company Act (buy-back provisions), a company buying back its own shares is prohibited from making further issue of shares (for six months) following the completion of buyback. According to notification dated 15th October, 2008, the company is expected to complete the buy-back process by July 9, 2009. This efectively means that DLF cannot raise money through equity markets untill January 2010.

This is not in favor of DLF especially during (1) times of renewed optimism in equity markets and (2) when peers like Unitech and Sohba are looking to aggresively reduce their balance-sheet leverage by offering additional stock.

No wonder DLF has approached the government to surrender five of its nine IT-ITeS notified special economic zones (SEZ), according to a PTI report quoting a senior Commerce Ministry official. As per the SEZ Act, the tax-free enclaves cannot be surrendered once they become operational. DLF, however, has not started work on the five SEZs that it wants to surrender. Its nine notified SEZs are located in various states. According to official data, the land bank of DLF's nine notified SEZs include 10.61 hectares near Hyderabad, 10.12 hectares in Gandhinagar, 12.06 hectares and 10.73 hectares in Gurgaon, 10.24 hectares in Sonepat, 10.33 hectares in Pune, 10.23 hectares in Bhubaneswar, 13.29 hectares in Kanchipuram and 10.48 hectares in Kolkata. It is not clear which SEZs are now sought to be cancelled.

Furthermore, recent press reports indicate that the firm has decided to shelve plans of its ambitious hotel (sells saket hotel for Rs55 crores) and wind power projects (refer to link http://mergers-in-india.blogspot.com/2009/03/dlf-to-sell-its-wind-power-business.html) for cash constraints

Pantaloon to realign companies, raise Rs 1,500 cr in 2 months

Kishore Biyani's Pantaloon Retail India intends to complete in the next two months legalities for its ambitious plans of raising Rs 1,500 crore and realigning of group companies for expansion Two months time is a good estimate (for the proposal's completion)," a company source said here. The Board of Directors of the BSE-listed firm met here yesterday and approved raising Rs 367 crore through preferential allotment of shares and warrants.
It is believed that Future Group is in talks with Carlyle, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts for private equity funding of about Rs 1,100-1,200 crore.
"We are looking to raise funds independently without diluting any stake," the source said, without giving details. In a major realignment exercise, the board proposed to rechristen Pantaloon Retail India (PRIL) as Future Market & Consumer Goods (FMGC), which will be the holding company for its multiple subsidiaries. It is believed that Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar (its value retail segments) may be hived off into a separate entity called Future Value Retail, if they find a suitable partner. "The proposed company - FMCG Ltd - will be the holding company for our two main subsidiaries, which will be created to focus on fashion and retail," Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani told PTI. Existing companies like Future Capital Holdings, Future Media and Future Logistics will come under FMCG Ltd. "No new subsidiaries (apart from fashion and retail) are being created," the source said. Pantaloon Retail India will sell 11 million shares at Rs 183 -- the firm's closing price on Thursday last -- for raising Rs 201 crore, the company said in an emailed statement. Another 4.1 million shares will be sold at the same price to Dharmayug Investments Ltd to bring in Rs 75 crore.

Amway to invest nearly Rs 185 cr in India in 2-3 years

US-based direct selling FMCG firm Amway will invest nearly Rs 185 crore in India over the next 2-3 years to buy space for its headquarter in the National Capital Region, besides setting up branches in other places. "We are looking to buy our headquarter here (NCR). We have been looking for the last two years and that will be (in) an investment between Rs 100-Rs 150 crore," Amway India Managing Director and CEO William Pinckney told PTI.
The company was looking at an area with sizes varying between 30,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida, he added.
"Over the last year-and-half, we have talked to both real estate developers and private owners," Pinckney said without divulging the details of the developers.
Besides, Amway India is also planning to have up to eight new centres across various locations in the country.
"We will develop 5-8 new centres, about 8,000-10,000 sq ft each. It will require an investment of about Rs 2-4 crore per centre," Pinckney said.
The company presently has 127 offices and pick-up centres at many places, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. It also has 55 warehouses, which are outsourced to service partners.
Direct selling is a practice of marketing or selling products without a fixed retail location. Amway sells products ranging from FMCG to healthcare supplements in India, of which about 95 per cent are locally manufactured.
The company is increasing its product portfolio in India as it aims to clock a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore by 2012-13 and add over 50,000 distributors annually.
Amway India, which has over 35 per cent market share in the Rs 3,500 crore Indian direct selling market, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US-based 8.2-billion-dollar Amway Corp. It entered India in 1995 and started its FMCG operations in 1998.

Tata Capital to roll out first PE fund by 2009-end

Tata Capital plans to roll-out the first of its series of private equity funds by the end of this year and will approach the market regulator Sebi to obtain regulatory approval very soon, a top company official said. "We plan to launch our first private equity fund, a 'classic' PE fund, before this year-end, specifically targeting the mid-market segment. We will be seeking regulatory approval from market regulator, Sebi, in the near future," Tata Capital Head Private Equity Shailendra Bhandari told PTI here. This will be followed by the Innovation Fund, most likely by end-2010, and later by a sector-specific fund, Bhandari said. Tata Capital, which proposes to be the anchor investor in all its domestic funds, has tied-up with Japan's Mizuho Securities to partner it in the mid-market fund which will be the first to be launched. This fund will target mid-market companies which are typically unlisted and the deal size would be in the range of $25-30-million. "It will be sector-agnostic and will invest in all sectors except real estate. We plan to do 4-5 deals a year, stay invested in companies for five years and exit in the sixth," he said.

Goldman Seeks New Stock Sale

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., riding a rising market, is considering making a multibillion-dollar offering of its shares to investors as part of an effort to repay a $10 billion government loan, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move, which could be announced as early as next week, comes as the firm prepares to report solid first-quarter earnings Tuesday. Goldman executives haven't determined the exact size of the offering, but it is expected to be at least several billion dollars, these people say. They caution a final decision isn't made, and will be based partly on market conditions

In October, the Treasury Department forced the nation's largest banks, including those that didn't need additional capital, to take government funds. Goldman received $10 billion. The view was that infusing all banks with capital would help shore up the financial sector more quickly and avoid tarring some banks as weak.
But stock markets now have risen for five consecutive weeks, and shares of financial firms have helped lead the rally. Thursday, Goldman's shares rose $9.58 a share, or 8%, to $124.33 on the New York Stock Exchange, and are trading at their highest level since October.
Repaying the government is favored by Goldman's employees, eager for the paydays of the past; by investors, who applauded the firm's finance chief when he made the suggestion; and its executives, who believe the government's role will make it harder for the firm to compete.
Goldman has weathered the mortgage meltdown better than many rivals; it holds about $111 billion in cash and cash-equivalent securities. Goldman executives privately say the firm doesn't need new capital to pay back the loan but doing so would signal its financial health.

Tata Motors in talks to raise money for JLR loan

India’s largest truck and bus maker, Tata Motors Ltd, is in advanced negotiations with banks and financial institutions, including Life Insurance Corp. of India(LIC), to raise between Rs2,000 crore and Rs3,000 crore through nonconvertible debentures (NCDs), two persons familiar with the move said.

The money will be used to repay part of the $3 billion (Rs15,150 crore today) bridge loan the company took to buy Ford Motor Co.’s marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion last January. About $2 billion of the loan amount is due by June. SBI Capital Markets Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. Ltd and Tata Capital Ltd, the Tata group’s non-banking financial company that also has an investment banking arm, will manage the fresh fund-raising programme, the two persons said. “The appointment of investment bankers will be finalized soon, in the next one week,” one of the two persons, a Tata group executive, said.
SBI Capital will play a “senior role” and lead-manage the issue, the other person, an investment banker advising Tata Motors on NCDs, said on Monday evening.

Unitech plans $250mn QIP issue to part-pay debt

Unitech Ltd, the country’s second-biggest real estate developer, plans to raise as much as $250 million (Rs 1,250 crore) through private placement of shares to qualified institutions, company officials said, to repay part of its debt of over Rs 8,000 crore.
The New Delhi-based developer plans to raise the funds by the end of this month, a company official, said declining to be identified. The company is planning to reduce Rs 1,000 crore of debt on its books by June this year. Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and key officials of the company have been in Mumbai over the past couple of days to gauge investor sentiment. The real estate company has hired UBS and IDFC as arrangers for issue. A Unitech spokesperson declined to comment. Unitech’s move comes after the developer withdrew its application with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in February to raise Rs 5,000 crore from the sale of securities. A year earlier, the company planned to raise Rs 7,500 crore through a qualified institutional placement or QIP.