Bangalore: IDG Ventures India, the Bangalore-based early-stage venture capital firm that bankrolls technology companies, plans to raise a second India-specific fund of $300 million (Rs1,302 crore). The firm, part of IDG Ventures that manages more than $3.7 billion, expects to complete raising the money by 2009. Since it began operations in 2006, it has invested in eight Indian firms, including 3D Solid Compression, Kreeda, Aujas Networks, Manthan Systems, ConnectM, Ozone Media, iViz and Perfint. “India is a very attractive market. The entrepreneurs are not confined to domestic markets. They have more global approach, unlike entrepreneurs in China,” said Patrick J. McGovern, founder and chairman of International Data Group Inc., an IT-focused media company that backs IDG Ventures.
Deepti Chaudhary
Reliance Mutual Fund sells 3.1% in NDTV
Mumbai: Reliance Mutual Fund has sold about 1.96 million shares, or a 3.1% stake, in broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd, data on the National Stock Exchange showed on Tuesday. It did not mention the buyers.
Reuters
First Winner drops around 29% on debut
Mumbai:First Winner Industries Ltd, a garments manufacturer, declined as much as 29% in its trading debut in Mumbai on Tuesday. The company sold shares at Rs125 apiece in an initial public offering last month. First Winner, based in Mumbai, raised Rs68.8 crore through the IPO to set up an apparel manufacturing and weaving unit at Tarapur in Maharashtra. Part of the fund will be used to repay loans. Shares closed at Rs89.2 on Tuesday, down Rs35.8 , or 29%.
Bloomberg
Templeton, pioneer of global funds, dies at 95
Edinburgh:John Templeton, the billionaire US philanthropist who made his fortune as the pioneer of global investing in the post-war boom, has died. He was 95.
Templeton died on Monday at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, the Bahamian island that was his home, his spokesman, Don Lehr, said in a statement. The cause was pneumonia.
The Templeton Growth Fund was one of the first mutual funds to give Americans access to investments in companies abroad. Since it was founded in 1954, the fund has returned about 14.5 percent a year on average.
Like Warren Buffett, Templeton developed a cult following, with fund investors flocking to annual meetings to hear his pronouncements. Money magazine in 1999 called him “arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century.” A devout Presbyterian, Templeton may be remembered as much for financing the study of spirituality as for his canny investments. In 1972, he set up the $1 million-plus Templeton Prize. Mother Teresa was the first recipient, six years before she collected the Nobel Peace Prize. He always made sure that his award offered more money than the Nobel Prizes.
Bloomberg
Capital inflow almost tripled in FY08 : NCAER