1. Top Headlines
Mumbai-based payment system company EPS raises over
$5M from Asia Participation.
Gujarat Apollo to acquire 26% stake in Credo Mineral for
$2.1M.
SAIF Partners raises stake in Speciality Restaurants, buys
3.2% more.
IL&FS Infra Asset Management raises $121M for infra debt
fund.
CDC invests $16M in Chennai-based microfinance firm
Equitas.
Utkarsh Micro Finance raises $12M through NCDs.
Info Edge invests over $700K more in online photography
startup Canvera, values firm around $54M.
Inflexionpoint acquires controlling stake in Delhi-based
Iris Computers.
AstraZeneca to buy Bristol-Myers Squibb's stake in
diabetes JV for up to $4.1B
Inside The Story
Mumbai-based payment system company EPS raises over
$5M from Asia Participation.
Mumbai-based payment system company Electronic Payment and
Services Pvt Ltd (EPS) has secured Rs 33 crore (over $5 million) funding
from Asia Participation B.V, an affiliate of FMO, a Dutch development
bank. The capital will be used for bringing innovations in the current
business.EPSâs business strategy involves market penetration through
outsourced ATM services, EFTPoS outsourcing, switching for payment
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2. Processing and related technology infrastructure services. Prior to this
round, EPS raised two series of funds totalling Rs 53 crore from
Aavishkaar. Over 14 months, a total equity of Rs 86 crore has been
infused into EPS in three phases.
Gujarat Apollo to acquire 26% stake in Credo Mineral for
$2.1M.
Road construction equipment maker Gujarat Apollo Industries Ltd is
picking 26 per cent stake in Credo Mineral Industries Ltd (CMIL) for Rs
13 crore ($2.1 million), as per a stock market disclosure.Ahmedabadbased public limited firm CMIL is a part of Credo Group which focuses
primarily on the mining and minerals sector of India.With this JV,
Gujarat Apollo would be able to expand its existing business segment by
adding value to its core focus of manufacturing crushing/screening
equipment for the mining and mineral beneficiation industry.
SAIF Partners raises stake in Speciality Restaurants, buys
3.2% more
Multi-stage investor SAIF Partners has increased its holding in fine
dining chain operator Speciality Restaurants, buying approximately 3.2
per cent from the markets on Monday. SAIF Partners picked up the
stake from Glix Securities, another pre-IPO investor for Rs 18.74
crore. With this purchase, SAIF holds 13.84 per cent stake in Speciality
Restaurants, whose brands include Mainland China and Oh!
Calcutta.Scrip of Speciality Restaurants was trading at Rs 124.5, up 1.47
per cent in mid-day trades on Tuesday.Through SAIF India IV FII
Holdings, the PE firm picked up 1.5 million shares at Rs 124.99 per unit.
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3. IL&FS Infra Asset Management raises $121M for infra debt
fund.
IL&FS Infra Asset Management Ltd (IIAML) has raised Rs 750 crore or
$120.9 million for its infrastructure debt fund (IDF), the company said
in a release. This is the first part of a $5-billion corpus that the company
is planning to raise.IIAML is an asset management company promoted
by IL&FS Financial Services Ltd (IFIN) to manage the IL&FS
Infrastructure Debt Fund (IIDF). It is separate from IL&FS Investment
Managers, another group firm which manages infrastructure equity and
real estate funds.IL&FS Infra Asset Management is a joint venture
between IL&FS Financial Services and Life Insurance Corporation of
India, country's largest insurer
CDC invests $16M in Chennai-based microfinance firm
Equitas.
UKâs development finance institution CDC Group Plc has invested $16
million in Chennai-based microfinance and micro-housing finance
company Equitas Holdings Pvt Ltd (formerly Equitas Micro Finance
India Pvt Ltd).CDCâs investment in Equitas is a part of the financing
package of $36 million that includes additional funding from FMO (the
Dutch DFI) and other investors, and this its first direct investment in an
MFI since the launch of its new strategy in 2012 which enables CDC to
make direct equity and debt investments as well as to continue to
commit capital to third-party funds.Equitas expects the funding to help
it reach 5.5 million customers by 2018 (up from 1.5 million currently)
across all three business units, boost its loan portfolio to $2 billion from
$235 million and grow its network of branches to 825 in 2018 from 350
currently.
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4. Utkarsh Micro Finance raises $12M through NCDs
Varanasi-based Utkarsh Micro Finance Pvt Ltd has raised Rs 75.8 crore
($12.09 million) in debt funding through an issue of secured,
redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs), the company said in a
release.The NCDs, which are listed on the BSE, were financed by
Microfinance Enhancement Facility, UTI International Wealth Creator 4
and AAV Sarl, which were advised by BlueOrchard Finance S.A,
responsAbility Investments AG and Symbiotics SA, respectively.Last
week, the firm said that it has raised Rs 29.8 crore through the issue of
secured, rated, listed, redeemable, transferable, non-convertible
debentures of face value of Rs 1,000,000 each on a private placement
basis.
Info Edge invests over $700K more in online photography
startup Canvera, values firm around $54M.
Info Edge (India), which runs a slew of consumer Internet portals
including Naukri.com, has infused Rs 4.5 crore ($724,275) more in
online photography startup Canvera Digital Technologies Pvt Ltd.The
investment was done through optionally convertible cumulative
redeemable preference shares. With the fresh investment, Info Edgeâs
total exposure to Canvera has risen to Rs 42 crore and it holds around
26 per cent per cent stake in Canvera (on a fully diluted and converted
basis), the company disclosed on Friday.Originally, Info Edge had picked
23 per cent effective stake for Rs 35.4 crore, which would have put a
valuation of around Rs 150 crore on Canvera. Early this year it hiked its
stake to 25 per cent and its total exposure rose to Rs 37.5 crore.
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5. Inflexionpoint acquires controlling stake in Delhi-based
Iris Computers.
Inflexionpoint Acquisition Corporation has acquired a controlling stake
of New Delhi-headquartered Iris Computers for an undisclosed amount,
the company said in a release. This marks raising its holding after
acquiring a minority stake last year.This is the second acquisition by
Inflexionpoint in Asia. Earlier it had acquired Singapore-based IT
component distributor, Dragon Technology Distribution. With these two
acquisitions, the firm has consolidated over $700 million in annual
distribution revenues spread over 10 countries in the Asia
Pacific.Krishen shall continue to lead Iris Computers as its chairman.
Neeraj Chauhan (CEO Inflexionpoint Asia) and Vishal Sopory have been
appointed as directors of the new board.
AstraZeneca to buy Bristol-Myers Squibb's stake in
diabetes JV for up to $4.1B
AstraZeneca Plc, a global bio pharmaceutical company, has announced
an agreement to acquire entire stake of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMS)
in their global diabetes joint venture for $4.1 billion.Although a global
deal, the move will also potentially boost the financials of AstraZenecaâs
Indian public listed arm. India has an estimated 67-70 million confirmed
diabetes patients with another 30 million odd in the pre-diabetes phase.
The country is expected to house the largest number of diabetes
patients in the world in a couple of decades.BMS bought diabetes
specialist Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $5.3 billion last year and formed
an alliance with AstraZeneca. The BMS-AstraZeneca diabetes joint
venture includes oral medicines Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga, as
well as injectable treatments Bydureon and Byetta.
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