Mint brings you your dose of the top deals news, reported from newsrooms across the country
Brookfield, JM Financial unit in advanced stages to buy Leela Hotels
Lender JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company (JMFARC) is keen to retain about 10% of the debt-hit hospitality company, Hotel Leelaventure, even as exclusive talks with prospective buyer Brookfield Asset Management move to an advanced stage, The Economic Times reported. The Canadian private equity major is looking to pick up the bulk of JMFARC’s debt in the chain. With its hotels portfolio spanning across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Udaipur, Gurugram and Bengaluru, the luxury hospitality chain’s debt exceeds Rs 3,000 crore. Read more
Air India makes fresh bid to raise Rs 500 crore
Air India Ltd has made a fresh attempt to raise Rs 500 crore in debt after a similar effort last month failed to find any takers, Mint reported. The national carrier plans to use the funds to meet working capital needs and pay interest on outstanding loans, according to a tender floated by the airline. Air India, which has a government-backed sovereign guarantee on its debt, hopes to raise the amount from domestic lenders for a loan tenure of one year. The latest fundraiser, if successful, will exhaust the sovereign guarantee limit of Rs 2,000 crore offered by the government to the loss-making airline for the year.
Greenko plans to buy Skeiron in Rs 3500 crore deal
The Greenko group, backed by sovereign wealth funds GIC Holdings Pte Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is in talks with Skeiron Renewable Energy to acquire 385 megawatt (MW) of wind projects at an enterprise value of around Rs 3,500 crore, Mint reported. This comes against the backdrop of the Greenko group being poised to buy Orange Renewable from Singapore’s AT Capital Group, in what may rank among the biggest deals in India’s renewable energy space, Mint reported on Monday. Read more
Meesho in advanced talks to raise $50 million
Social commerce marketplace Meesho is in advanced talks to raise $40-50 million in funding led by Apoletto Asia, the personal investment vehicle of DST Global’s Russian billionaire founder Yuri Milner and other partners at the firm, Mint reported. Read more
IL&FS defaults on intercorporate deposits worth Rs 1.72 billion
Beleaguered infrastructure financier Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has defaulted on interest and principal payments on inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) of Rs 1.72 billion due last Friday, Business Standard reported. in a statement to the stock exchanges, IL&FS said the interest default by the company on 29 September was set off by IndusInd Bank towards interest for Rs 164 million against interest service reserve account maintained by the company with IndusInd Bank. “The liability of IL&FS thus stands cancelled to that extent for IndusInd Bank for the month of September 2018,” it said. Read more
GMR Infra to pay Rs 3560 crore to PE investors in airport business row
GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) on Monday said it has settled an ongoing arbitration with the private equity (PE) investors in its airport business GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), a move that is expected to clear the decks for GAL’s initial public offer (IPO), Mint reported. The Bengaluru-based infrastructure firm has agreed to pay Rs 3,560 crore to PE firms SBI Macquarie, Standard Chartered Private Equity, JM Financial Old Lane and others in lieu of their entire holding of compulsorily convertible preference shares in GAL. In addition, the PE investors will also acquire a 5.86% stake in the airport business valuing GAL at Rs 21,000 crore. The payout to PE investors will be funded by GIL through the sale of its airport-related equity holdings to the airport business
Aye Finance looks to raise up to Rs 300 crore from new investors
Small business loans provider Aye Finance is looking to raise Rs 250-300 crore ($33.9-40.7 million) in a Series D funding round from new overseas investors, Mint reported. The Gurugram-based non-banking financial company has initiated talks with two foreign investors to raise fresh capital at a valuation of Rs 500 crore, Sanjay Sharma, managing director of Aye Finance, said over the phone, adding that existing investors are also expected to participate in the proposed round. Read more