BackDeals Buzz: ATC emerges as frontrunner for Idea Cellular’s telecom towers
In other news, IFMR eyes offshore credit as next big more, while CureFit is set to acquire healthcare start-ups, including Serenity Mental Health
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Mumbai: Mint brings to you your daily dose of top deals reported by newsrooms across the country.
Vodafone confirms merger talks with Idea to create India’s biggest telecom firm
Consolidation in India’s $27 billion telecom industry has received a massive boost with British telecom major Vodafone Group Plc. confirming that it is in talks for a merger of its Indian unit with Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular Ltd.
The proposed merger will create the nation’s largest telecom firm with combined revenue of Rs78,000 crore and a 43% share of the market hitherto dominated by Bharti Airtel Ltd, which reported annual revenue of Rs50,008 crore from local telecom operations in the last financial year.
With Vodafone India Ltd’s tower unit out of the proposed merger, Vodafone Group and the Aditya Birla Group will be almost equal partners. The two would have equal rights in the new company, said Idea. Read more
CureFit to acquire two healthcare start-ups, including Serenity Mental Health
CureFit Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, a healthcare and fitness start-up launched by former Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, is all set to make two acquisitions as it prepares to launch its mobile app in the first half of the year.
CureFit, which bought fitness centre brand Cult for $3 million last August, is in talks to invest in another fitness centre in Bengaluru and a mental wellness services provider Serenity Mental Health, Nagori said in an interview.
The company will introduce services in mental wellness, health food and fitness on the app when it launches and offers health check-up services later this year. Read more
ATC emerges as frontrunner for Idea Cellular’s telecom towers
American Tower Corporation (ATC) has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire Indian telecom operator Idea Cellular’s telecom towers at an enterprise value of as much as Rs4,500 crore, according to a report by The Economic Times.
Its tower business is managed by Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services, which operates 9,772 towers.
The company has been in discussion with Bharti Infratel and a few private equity players including Blackstone and Carlyle to sell it. However, ATC led the race with a bid of Rs4,300-4,500 crore, subject to final due diligence, the paper said citing sources.
Idea Cellular, which is a flagship of diversified business conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, had reorganised its telecom towers portfolio last year in order to monetise the business. It had hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a buyer. Read more
Telenor seeks tie-up with Aircel-Reliance Communication
Norway’s Telenor has evinced interest to explore a merger via share swap with the merged Aircel and Reliance Communication entity, The Economic Times reported citing sources. Telenor is looking to combine its business, customer base plus spectrum with the merged Aircel-RCom entity.
“Discussions among the three had started around last Christmas but it has been in a limbo for the last few weeks due to the Supreme Court shadow over Aircel’s local operations. By the end of this week, there will be clarity on that front. If the court decides to quash the Aircel license, then even the bigger Aircel-RCom merger will collapse," the paper said, quoting an executive aware of the ongoing discussions.
If the talks fructify, Telenor will own 10% in the three-way alliance. Maxis Communication Bhd, Aircel’s promoter and RCom will get proportionally diluted and end up holding 45% each in the venture. Read more
IFMR eyes offshore credit as next big move
Financial inclusion services provider IFMR Holdings, which will complete a decade this year, will embark on a major expansion drive, said a senior executive of the firm.
Founded by former ICICI Bank Ltd executives Bindu Ananth and Nachiket Mor, the group was set up in 2007 and today runs various businesses.
For IFMR Capital, expansion through the development of offshore credit markets is a big strategic imperative, said Sucharita Mukherjee, managing director and chief executive officer at IFMR Holdings.
“There is a deep investor base sitting offshore and the equity markets are a testament to that. We have to make that real in the debt and the mezzanine space. We think that is a huge strategic imperative and we believe it is a big opportunity," she said.
The offshore credit market development will also take a fund approach, Mukherjee added. Read more
Piramal Enterprises acquires drug portfolio from UK firm for Rs1,160 crore
Piramal Enterprises Ltd has acquired a portfolio of drugs for spasticity, a muscle control disorder, and pain management from UK-based Mallinckrodt Llc for $171 million (around Rs1,160 crore) in an all-cash deal, it said on Monday.
The acquisition, by the company’s UK subsidiary Piramal Critical Care, is a prelude to Piramal Enterprises’s plans to spin off and list its financial services unit and pharmaceuticals business, said chairman Ajay Piramal.
Earlier this month, in a second and more conclusive restructuring of its financial services business, Piramal Enterprises moved all assets and liabilities related to lending to real estate and non-real estate projects to its unit Piramal Finance Pvt. Ltd. Read more
Suryoday to mop up Rs100 crore through rights issue
Suryoday Small Finance Bank is in the process to raise Rs100 crore through a rights issue to its investors, with a view to take its net worth to Rs450 crore.
Once an SFB (small finance bank) reaches net worth of Rs500 crore, it is mandatory to list within three years, which the bank hopes can be done by 2020. Suryoday is the only small finance bank from Maharashtra, but has a presence in seven states already, as it was a microfinance firm.
Suryoday is offering a 7.25% interest on savings accounts with deposits of more than Rs1 lakh. For savings account deposits up to Rs1 lakh, the rate of interest would be 6.25%. Read more
Lenders to divest 55% stake in GMR Rajahmundry Energy
IDBI Bank-led consortium of lenders has put on sale 55% equity stake in GMR Rajahmundry Energy, which they had bought last year after the debt restructuring.
Last year, lenders had converted a part of their debt into equity in GMR Rajahmundry Energy, which operates a 768 MW natural gas-based power plant at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. GMR Rajahmundry Energy is a unit of GMR Infrastructure.
Following the conversion, lenders got 55% equity stake in the project, while the promoters holding was reduced to 45%. The project still has a debt of Rs2,366 crore. Read more
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