UTI AMC to divest 26 pc stake; open to acquisition

UTI Asset Management Company said on Saturday that it would divest 26 per cent stake to a strategic partner in the next three months but is open to acquisition of domestic fund house. "There are three shortlisted parties interested in taking stake and we hope to finalise this in the next three months," UTI AMC Chairman and Managing Director U K Sinha said here. Sinha declined to name the shortlisted bidders, but said the AMC would induct those that offered UTI a greater global footprint. "We have five and four-star rated offshore funds, but our size is very small. There are very large fund houses with much lower rating. We would like a partner those who could help us in overseas activities," Sinha said. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance Corporation are the shareholders of UTI AMC holding 25 per cent each. Post divestment, all four investors would dilute stake proportionately to allot 26 per cent to the strategic partner. On acquisition, Sinha said the fund house is open if any offer comes and there are indications that a few AMCs were in trouble since mid 2008-09. UTI AMC has assets worth Rs 49,754 crore under management as on March 2009.

Source: Economic Times

HDFC-HDFC Bank merger talk hots up once again

There is a fresh buzz over a possible HDFC-HDFC Bank merger, following a report by MNC bank Macquarie Research. The report states how the ‘perfect match’ would yield ‘multi-year benefits’. According to a report by Macquarie Research, the upside would come from marrying HDFC Bank’s liabilities base — the best in the country according to Macquaire — with HDFC’s ‘best-in-class’ loan origination franchise. “This would address the concerns over whether HDFC’s wholesale-funded model is scalable, as well as, fill a major gap in HDFC Bank’s asset portfolio. Cross-selling to HDFC’s large customer base would be a secondary opportunity,” the report added. According to Macquarie, HDFC has moved from being a minuscule player in the overall market to being a significant user of national resources. As Figure 6 shows, HDFC’s borrowings now comprise a significant share of incremental deposits in the system. And this will put some pressure on its long-term growth opportunities. We expect that by FY3/13E, HDFC will need bank funding to the extent of 2.8% of incremental bank deposits in the system, which is fairly large for a secondary borrower. Another hurdle for HDFC’s funding is single-borrower limits for banks. Banks cannot lend more than 15% of their total capital to any single borrower.

Centurion Bank gets nod for Lord Krishna Bank merger

MUMBAI: Centurion Bank of Punjab Ltd said on Tuesday it has received the Reserve Bank of India's approval for the merger of Lord Krishna Bank Ltd with itself. The merger is effective from August 29 and Centurion will issue seven shares in itself for every five held in Lord Krishna, the bank said.

Holcim plans to buy 20% more in Ambuja

Swiss giant Holcim plans to increase its stake in Ambuja Cements to over 51% as sky-high growth rates, soaring prices and demand in the world’s second-largest cement market make consolidation a business imperative.

The move values Ambuja, which has a capacity of about 16 million tonnes, at about Rs 23,433 crore or about $350 per tonne of cement. In contrast, rival Ultratech, with a 13 million tonne capacity, is valued at about $160 per tonne. Ambuja shares climbed 1.72% to Rs 132.75 on Thursday. The shares have risen 4.61% over the past week but have fallen 1.81% over the month.

ICICI Venture buys out US pharma R&D firm

In what is arguably the first buyout led by an Indian private equity firm in the international market, ICICI Venture — the private equity arm of ICICI Bank— has acquired majority control in US-based clinical research company Radiant Research

ICICI Venture, one of the most active private equity funds in India managing funds in excess of $2 billion, has multiple exposure in the life sciences business. Its investment portfolio includes Arch Pharmalabs, Malladi Drugs, Bharat Biotech, I-Ven Pharma, RFCL, Metropolis, Perlecan, Avesthagen, Biocon, Medicorp and Intas Pharma.

source: economic times

GV Films hunting for more..

The Chennai-based G V Films says it's interested in acquiring a 10 per cent stake in another city-based animation firm Sanrasoftware Ltd, which recently bagged orders for production work of cartoon films from Hollywood. A Venkatramani, Director, GV films, earlier said his company would like to have 10 per cent stake in Sanra.

SFC buys stake in Deccan Chronicle

Foreign brokerage firm Swiss Finance Corp has acquired 5.41 lakh shares of the Deccan Chronicle Holdings, publishers of Deccan Chronicle, through the conversion of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) into equity shares.

In a communique to BSE, Deccan Chronicle said its Share Allotment Committee in a meeting on Friday approved the allotment of 5,41,410 equity shares of Rs 2 each (face-value) as per the terms of the bonds.

SAP Looking At Acquisitions In India ; Targets Should Have Smart IP

Leading global business software maker SAP said that it's looking at acquisitions in India. Speaking at the inaugural day of the three-day SAP Summit '07 in Mumbai on Wednesday, Geraldine McBride, President of SAP Asia Pacfic Japan (APJ), said that the company is open to making acquisitions, essentially for acquiring smart technologies. "There are some companies with very smart IP. We are interested in looking at them," McBride

She, however, added that the acquisitions are not meant to acquire revenues or market share. The aim is to acquire IP. The company calls it "tuck-in" acquisition strategy. McBride also revealed that SAP has already identified two companies as potential targets in India. "There are two companies under our radar," she said, without revealing what sector they belonged to or their revenues.

McBride also announced that the company would invest $1 billion over the next three years (by 2010). Its focus area of growth in India will be small and medium enterprises

Tata Steel eyes acquisitions in SE Asia

Tata Steel, India's largest steelmaker, may expand by buying firms in Southeast Asia after two major deals already this year including a takeover of Anglo-Dutch firm Corus, a report said Wednesday. Managing Director B Muthuraman told the business daily that his company was interested in buying mines as well as factories to expand its range of products.

Tata is among several steel companies seeking to consolidate the fragmented industry and last month announced it has taken a minimum 65 per cent stake in a Vietnamese steel plant joint venture estimated at $3.5 billion.