Major financial houses in race to acquire UTI Securities stake

Major international financial powerhouses Citigroup, Macquarie Bank, Standard Chartered, Societe Generale and Kuwait-based Global Investment House are in the race to acquire 49% stake in UTI Securities. UTI Securities is currently owned by the Securities Trading Corporation of India (STCI).

STCI had bought 100% stake in UTI Securities for Rs. 265 crores in 2006 from the Specified Undertaking of UTI (SU-UTI). It is now looking to sell 49% stake to a strategic partner. As per the deal, STCI has a minimum lock-in of 51% stake in UTI Securities for three years, which will end in 2008.

The company will now divest 49% stake to a strategic partner, preferably a foreign investor, considering the expertise they would bring in. The talks were at an advanced stage and a prospective strategic partner would be short-listed soon.

Read more in the Business Standard article.

Macquarie Bank planning a $1 bn India infrastructure fund

Australia-based Macquarie Bank is setting up a $1 bn India-centric infrastructure fund. Macquarie is one of the largest managers of infrastructure funds in the world, and manages infrastructure assets worth $22 bn worldwide. It is likely to set up the fund through its infrastructure subsidiary, Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG). Though the bank is yet to make a formal announcement regarding the fund, it has reportedly already started evaluating deals and projects.

Macquarie is the second global financial services provider looking at an India-dedicated infrastructure fund. The first has been announced by Citigroup which is rolling out a dedicated infrastructure fund in partnership with IDFC and the backing of the Ministry of Finance.

Macquarie Bank started its Indian operations in 2005 and is currently focusing on its securities and research business. The proposed fund would mark its foray in asset management in India. While Macquarie’s infrastructure funds are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, its proposed India-based entity may not list on the Indian bourses. The company recently started its infrastructure funds in Singapore and Korea both of which are listed on the local bourses.

Read more in The Economic Times article.
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Citigroup, Blackstone, IDFC, IIFC tie-up for $5bn India Infrastructure Financing Initiative fund

MindTree Consulting IPO opens on Feb 9; priced at Rs. 365 – 425

MindTree Consulting Limited, an IT services company, is coming out with its maiden public offering of its equity shares, which opens on February 9, 2007 and close on February 14, 2007. The company proposes to offer 55.9 mn equity shares of Rs. 10 each at a price band of Rs. 365/- to Rs. 425/- per equity share through a 100% book building process method. The issue will constitute 15.00% of the post-issue capital of the company. Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Macquarie are the managers to the issue.

MindTree is organized into two divisions – IT Services and R&D Services. IT Services comprise IT strategic consulting, application development and maintenance, package implementation and product engineering services. The IT Services business unit offers such services mainly to industries such as manufacturing, travel and transportation, banking, financial services and insurance. R&D Services are organized into two divisions – Engineering, which provides product realization services including architecture and design, re-engineering and product assurance to technology and product firms; and Research, which conceives and develops intellectual properties, primarily in the short-range wireless communication segment and licenses and customizes such intellectual properties for clients.

Read the press release here.

In a related development, MindTree is about to acquire a domestic semiconductor design company in an all-cash deal. The target company is reported to employ around 200 people. It has a sales presence in the US and a delivery centre in India. MindTree has signed a non-binding term-sheet with this firm and due diligence is on. It expects the acquisition to add to its IC (integrated chip) design capability and will also bring in new customers. This will be MindTree’s third acquisition in its seven-year history. The company had earlier made two acquisitions, the software division of ASAP and its subsidiary in September 2004 and Linc Software Services in June 2005.

Read the article in Business Standard.