GMR Energy Raises Rs 465Cr From IDFC PE, Argonaut & Ascent Capital

GMR Energy Limited, the energy arm of diversified GMR Group, has decided to to raise capital from investors led by the IDFC Group for its energy expansion plans. The IDFC Group and co-investors, Argonaut Ventures and Ascent Capital, have signed a shareholders’ agreement to invest Rs 465 crore into GEL. In April, Singapore investment fund Temasek Holdings invested $200 million (about Rs 936 crore) in GMR Infra. Prior to that, the company raised another $315 million (about Rs 1,475 crore) from share sale to institutions. GMR Energy is engaged in the business of power generation, transmission and distribution.

The funds from the IDFC Group-led investor group will support the company in expanding its power generation capacity from 808MW to more than 6,500MW over the next few years. The company has already achieved financial closure and fuel linkages for GMR Kamalanga (1,050 MW capacity, which is being enhanced to 1400 MW and EPC contract for the expansion is finalised with SEPCO, China, who are also the EPC contractors for 1050 MW capacity) and Emco Energy (600MW). Several other projects are also in an advanced development stage, said a company statement.

GM Rao, GMR Group chairman said, “We are extremely happy to have IDFC Group, Argonaut and Ascent as the shareholders of GEL. Our relationship with the IDFC Group has been sustained over time and we are confident that this relationship will continue to be a mutually gratifying experience for both parties”.

Rajiv Lall, Managing Director & CEO of IDFC said, "The GMR Group is one of the most dynamic and capable infrastructure developers globally. The Indian power generation sector represents an attractive investment opportunity given the current supply-demand imbalance. GMR Energy Ltd (GEL) has an experienced team, proven track record in implementing power projects and diversified fuels assured asset portfolio." 

Last month, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, the infrastructure and power subsidiary of GMR Group, had received board approval to raise Rs 5,000 crore in equity. The proposed fund would be raised though multiple routes including global depository receipts (GDRs), American depository receipts (ADRs), foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), qualified institutional placement (QIP).

The dire need for additional capital for expanding capacities in the wake of higher demand makes the power sector an attractive investment target for the PE players. Last week, VCCircle had reported plans of Regen Powertech, a PE-backed wind turbine manufacturer, to raise its second round of private equity funding worth Rs 200-250 crore. Everstone Capital had invested about $25 million in Regen.

In 2010, till date, about 8 deals worth about $720 million have been struck in this space. Among the major deals include $425 million investment in Asian Genco Pte Ltd by various investors and $200 million in GMR Energy by Temasek Holdings. Since 2009, about $3.7 billion worth investment was made in 111 deals across power sector.

In 2010, Greenko Group PLC, a renewable energy generation company with focus on developing a portfolio of biomass, hydro electric and wind assets within India, received $34 million investment from TPG Capital Inc. Also, Auro Mira Energy Co. Pvt. Ltd, engaged in manufacturing and supplying wind energy generators, raised $10 million from International Finance Corp this year. Soham Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd. which focuses on various segments of renewable energy, raised $19.25 million from FE Clean Energy Group Inc last year and raised $15 million from DE Shaw Composite Investments in 2008.

View full post on VCCircle Feeds

IFC May Invest Rs 10Cr In Mumbai MFI Swadhaar FinServe

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, is investing Rs 10 crore in equity in Swadhaar FinServe Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based urban-focussed microfinance institution (MFI). IFC may pick up to 20% stake in Swadhaar with this investment, VCCircle has learnt. 

It will take the final decision on the proposed investment at its meeting scheduled on July 5 this year. The investment follows IFC’s recent announcement of capital infusion in Delhi-based MFI Satin Creditcare Network Ltd.  

Led by former banker Veena Mankar, Swadhaar hopes to emerge as a national player operating across multiple locations targeting a loan outstanding of over Rs 870 crore by March 2016 and an outreach of about 600,000 clients.

IFC will join two other existing private equity investors in Swadhaar that include Accion Gateway Fund LLC and Mauritius-based Unitus Equity Fund. As of March 2010, Accion Gateway and Unitus Equity Fund hold 22.57% and 12.50% stake, respectively, in Swadhaar.

Apart from the PE investors, Swadhaar also raised capital from the Indian Family Trust and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which together hold 43.09% stake in the MFI.  Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is currently the single largest shareholder in Swadhaar.

Swadhaar started operations as a non-banking financial company in 2008 and provides both individual and group loans to its customers, according to the information available on the company website. As of March 2010, it has 27 outlets across Mumbai, Baroda and Pune. It plans to expand its operations into the low income states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

View full post on VCCircle Feeds

Former Macromedia CEO And Adobe Board Member Rob Burgess Joins Syncapse Board

Social technology startup Syncapse this morning announced a big score with the appointment of Rob Burgess to the company’s Board of Directors.

Burgess was Chairman and CEO of Macromedia from 1996–2005, when Adobe Systems acquired the company for approximately $4 billion. He currently also sits on Adobe’s board.

Burgess joins Ian Giffen, Chairman of The Descartes Systems Group, and a former board member of Macromedia, on Syncapse’s inaugural Board of Directors. Giffen’s appointment was announced earlier this month together with a round of private equity funding to the tune of $3.3 million.

The company offers community building, technology solutions, and digital measurement products. Founded by entrepreneur Michael Scissons in 2007, Syncapse has offices in Toronto, New York, London and Portland.

Previously, Scissons served as the Canadian Director of Facebook media sales within the Interpublic network where he worked with companies to integrate their marketing into Facebook starting in early 2006.

View full post on TechCrunch

Chasing Colours: Godrej Buys Argencos In Deal Spree

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) continues its foray into global markets with a big shopping cart. It has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% stake in Argencos, a mid-sized Argentine hair care company with a strong portfolio of brands including Roby and 919.

The latest deal closely trails GCPL’s  acquisition of South America based Issue Group, a leader in Argentina’s hair colour market with an over 20% market share. The combined sales of the two Argentine transactions would be over $45 million. The equity value for both transactions is approximately $43 million.

With these two buyouts, Godrej’s hair colour portfolio will now enjoy a volume market share greater than 25% in hair colours and almost 50% in hair styling sprays. Argencos, one of the largest player in the kit format in hair colours with an market share of 17% in the format, has a manufacturing plant located in La Rioja. The hair colour market in Argentina is estimated to be around $200 million growing at a CAGR of over 22% in the last two years.

Last month, GCPL had consolidated its domestic operations with the buyout of Sara Lee in their joint venture Godrej Sara Lee – which markets Good Knight, Hit and Jet brands – for $234 million. GCPL recently acquired Tura, a leading beauty brand in West Africa, and Megasari Group, a leading household care company in Indonesia. The acquisition of Issue Group which had revenues of $33 million in 2009 involves buying of a 100% stake in  Laboratoria Ceuna, Consell SA, Issue Uruguay and Issue Brazil. Though the deal size was not disclosed, Issue Group has been valued at 8 times EBITDA and is expected to be EPS accretive from the first year of operations.

VCCircle earlier reported that GCPL is also holding talks with private equity majors such as Carlyle, Standard Chartered Private Equity and ChrysCapital for raising around $130-$140 million as part of its overall capital-raising plans estimated at over $650 million to fund these acquisitions.

The key businesses of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) are spread across the personal care segments of soaps, hair colours, toiletries and liquid detergents, with most of them operating at margins of over 20%. In FY10, GCPL reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2,042 crore (up 47%) with net profit of Rs 340 crore (up 97%).

Adi Godrej, Chairman, GCPL, said: “Argencos is a perfect, complementary add-on to our earlier acquisition of Issue Group. I expect the combination of the two businesses to set us on a firm footing in achieving our plans for Latin America. The two companies provide us with a tremendous platform for establishing a strong presence in the fast growing hair colour markets in Latin America. Argentina and Brazil are leading vanguards of hair trends and innovations in hair care. We will have market leadership in many countries in South America including a presence in Brazil."

At the same time, the acquisition represents another important step towards GCPL becoming a leading emerging markets multinational and dovetails well with our global 3-by-3 strategy – presence in 3 continents – Asia, Africa and Latin America through 3 core categories – home care, personal wash and hair care. Over the last few years, we have been following a very disciplined and focused approach to identifying acquisitions that represent a strong fit with our business, both strategically and operationally, he added.

A. Mahendran, Director, FMCG Portfolio Cell, added: “The acquisitions of Issue and Argencos are important steps in establishing our footprint in Latin America. We continue to stay true to our battle-tested approach of acquiring pioneering local brands with strong leadership positions in attractive geographies that have demonstrated an excellent track record of results and are run by seasoned management teams. These companies have a rich heritage of over a quarter of a century in serving the needs of the Latin American consumer through innovative and complementary offerings. We also believe that the opportunities for capitalizing on the strengths of these businesses across our entire hair colors business are significant.”

According to a recent Angel Broking report, GCPL is expected to post a 15% CAGR in the top-line and a 14% CAGR in earnings during FY2010-12E, as the benefits of price hikes fade out, GSL’s consolidation effect forms a base and Gross Margin expansion peaks out. "With GCPL’s wider portfolio, stronger performance of its international business, the likely acquisition of the remaining 51% stake in GSL from Sara Lee and a potential upside trigger from further acquisitions (likely in Latin America), we believe that the stock still offers significant triggers for sustained performance," the report said.

View full post on VCCircle Feeds

Clenergen India Buys 1.5 MW Biomass Power Plant In Tamil Nadu

Clenergen India Pvt Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Clenergen Corporation of USA, has acquired a 1.5MW biomass power plant in Tamil Nadu for a consideration of $1.65 million (about Rs 7.7 crore). The funding was made through a mix of debt and equity raised through share sale.

For the debt part, Clenergen has raised funding from Indian Renewable Energy Agency and other sources, while the equity was raised selling shares to the private equity players, it said in the statement.

Clenergen mentioned that the target plant is a turnkey project and is fully operational. It has facility to generate electricity through an anaerobic digestion process using chicken litter as the biomass feedstock. Clenergen is planning to start power generation from the project from June 15 this year, and is expecting revenue of $1.2-$1.8 million per annum from the plant, added the statement. 

Clenergen also intends to upgrade the generating capacity of the facility to 10MW over the next 12 months. It believes, if fully operational, the expanded plant will generate revenues in excess of $6 million per annum. 

Besides acquisition, the company is also expanding its operation in organic way. It will install two new biomass power projects, a 16MW plant in Tamil Nadu and a 64MW plant in Karnataka. It has also entered into a power purchase agreement with Power Trading Corporation of India Ltd (PTC) to sell produced power, and will supply 71MW of electricity to PTC for a 15-year period at an average price of 12 cents per KW hour.  

Mark Quinn, CEO, Clenergen Corporation, said, in the statement, “This is the first of several such acquisitions that Clenergen has scheduled for closure this year. Clenergen is committed to generating revenues and increasing shareholder values through acquisitions of existing power plants in tandem with its plan for an estimated 32,000 acres of energy crop plantations spread over six continents.”

View full post on VCCircle Feeds

« Previous Page — Next Page »