Deals Buzz brings you your dose of the top deals news reported from newsrooms across the country
RIL in talks to buy Hathway
Reliance Industries has initiated talks to acquire India’s largest cable operator, Hathway Cable & Datacom, in a bid to speed up the commercial launch of its GigaFiber high-speed home broadband services, The Economic Times reported. The valuation figure being discussed is around Rs 2,500 crore. Hathway is a multi-system operator, the industry term for a cable company that signs content and carriage deals with broadcasters, and offers the services to local cable operators. Read more
IL&FS asset sale plan hangs in the balance
The government’s move to supersede the board of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) and order a probe has clouded the view as to when the debt-laden lender would be able to proceed with its capital-raising, restructuring and asset monetization plans, Mint reported. With the Serious Fraud Investigation Office now launching a probe into suspected irregularities, there is a likelihood that the entire process will be delayed till at least March. Mint had reported on 31 August that IL&FS was in talks to raise $2 billion from the sale of its assets, with several interested bidders, including I Squared Capital, US-based stressed asset specialist Lone Star Funds and National Infrastructure Investment Fund. Read more
PE-led buyout deals hit a record $5.5 billion
Buyout transactions by private equity (PE) firms in India rose to $5.5 billion in 2018, the highest in five years, marking a shift in strategy for PE investors who had so far largely bought minority stakes, Mint reported. Private equity buyouts this year are also double that of 2017’s buyout deals worth $2.7 billion, according to data from Venture Intelligence. The share of buyouts in the overall PE/VC investment pie in India is projected to grow progressively, driven by increase in funds available with PE investors and as more and more enabling conditions emerge, according to experts. Read more
Future Group in advanced talks for local arm of Pepe Jeans
Kishore Biyani-led Future Lifestyle is in advanced stages of negotiations with Pepe Jeans to acquire its local arm and merge with its own Lee Cooper portfolio to create one of the country’s biggest casual wear brands, Mint reported. Pepe that operates more than 200 branded outlets in India — most of them franchisee run — was founded by Indian-origin siblings Arun, Nitin and Milan Shah in London in 1973, but has changed hands since. Pepe Jeans India is a fully owned subsidiary of Barcelona-based Pepe Jeans Group, which counts LVMH-owned L Catterton and Lebanese investment firm M1Group as majority shareholders. Read more
SigTuple may raise up to $50 million
Medical technology start-up SigTuple Technologies Pvt Ltd, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid medical diagnosis, is in talks to raise about $40-50 million in fresh funds in a Series C round, Mint reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. SigTuple has held early discussions with investors, including DST Global, PremjiInvest and Ratan Tata’s UC-RNT fund, the people cited above said. SigTuple may bring at least one new late-stage investor on board, if not more, they added. Earlier this year, SigTuple raised $19 million from Accel, IDG and other existing investors in a Series B round. Read more
Grover Zampa plans to raise Rs 130 crore from Quintela, AVT, others
Grover Zampa Vineyards Ltd, India’s second-largest wine maker, plans to raise around ₹130 crore from Singapore-based wine investor Ravi Viswanathan, Quintela and AVT Group, Mint reported. Around ₹60 crore of the planned investment has already been pumped in, according to Grover Zampa and its filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company will use the proceeds to launch new wines and redesign its wine tourism properties in Bengaluru and Nasik, even as it partners with other wineries to strengthen its portfolio.This comes barely a few months after Sula Vineyards Pvt. Ltd, the country’s largest winemaker, became the first Indian firm to cross the 1 million case mark in annual sales. Grover Zampa is far behind Sula in terms of volume, though it is the second-largest wine maker. In April, the company said it sells around 220,000 cases per year. Read more