BackDeals Buzz: Coffee Day group puts Sical Logistics on sale
In other news, Norway’s state utility Statkraft has emerged on top in the race for Continuum Wind Energy, a wind energy platform owned by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners
PremiumMumbai: Mint brings you your dose of the top deals news, reported from newsrooms across the country.
Coffee Day group puts Sical Logistics on sale
Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL), the company founded by late coffee tycoon V.G. Siddhartha, has put its Sical Logistics unit on the block as it seeks to pare debt, Mint reported citing three people directly aware of the matter. CDEL has hired ICICI Securities as adviser for the potential transaction, which could see the group holding company raise ₹1,000-1,500 crore, as it plans to sell the entire promoter stake and assets of Sical Logistics. CDEL’s debt at the consolidated level is around ₹4,400 crore. The sale of the Global Village Tech Park will bring down this debt to around ₹2,000 crore, while a part of the proceeds from this sale will go to CDEL’s books towards working capital requirements. On 7 September, CDEL hired IDFC Securities to advice on strategic options including the sale of its holding in Coffee Day Global Ltd, the unit that owns India’s largest coffee chain, as well as on refinancing of the group’s debt.
Statkraft front-runner in race for Continuum Wind Energy
Norway’s state utility Statkraft has emerged on top in the race for Continuum Wind Energy, a wind energy platform owned by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Mint reported citing two people aware of the development. In 2012, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, which manages more than $4 billion in assets globally, had invested $212 million in India-focused Continuum Wind, founded by Arvind Bansal and Vikash Saraf in 2009. Morgan Stanley currently has a majority stake in Continuum Wind. In May, Mint reported that Statkraft, along with strategic investors such as CLP India and global energy major Shell, were engaged in talks to acquire the wind energy platform. Continuum has more than 700MW of operational wind assets, making it one of the largest portfolios currently up for sale. The size of the portfolio makes it very attractive for strategic investors looking to expand their portfolio in India, the person cited above added.
Brookfield, Temasek eye GAIL’s gas pipeline assets
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Ltd have joined the race to buy the gas pipeline assets of state-run Gail (India) Ltd, Mint reported citing three people aware of the matter. A potential deal would be a vital win for Brookfield, which recently bought the gas pipeline assets of Reliance Industries Ltd. Gail owns more than two-thirds of India’s 12,000-km pipeline network. Gail, which is in the process of divesting its pipeline business, has already received interest from state-run Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) for the gas transmission assets. Prospective bidders have begun initial discussions with Gail and are expected to put a formal offer once a formal sale process begins post the demerger. The government has been planning to split Gail by hiving off its gas marketing and pipeline business into a separate entity and selling a majority stake in it to strategic investors. The government holds 52.68% in Gail, which had a market capitalization of ₹59,195.61 crore as on 6 September 2019.
WestBridge may take majority control of Fogg-maker Vini Cosmetics
West-Bridge Capital is in discussions to take majority control of Vini Cosmetics, valuing the maker of Fogg deodorants at about ₹6,500 crore, two years after it first backed the Ahmedabad-based consumer goods company, The Economic Times reported citing people familiar with the matter. The India-focussed fund plans to pick up an additional 30% stake in the company from early investor Sequoia Capital and the promoter group for around ₹2,000 crore. If the transaction goes through, WestBridge will end up with a slightly over 50% shareholding in the Darshan Patel-founded company. Vini was valued at ₹4,000 crore in 2017, when it last raised capital from WestBridge, which has invested in Star Health Insurance and diagnostics chain Dr Lal PathLabs, among others. The due diligence process is currently ongoing and is likely to conclude in a month’s time. While Sequoia is expected to make a complete exit, the promoters will shed about 15% of their holding. Patel co-founded Vini with younger brother Dipam Patel in 2009 and they together own more than 60% in the company. Sequoia and WestBridge hold 17% and 20%, respectively. WestBridge would want to build Vini into a large consumer goods company by acquiring brands and possibly tapping the public markets at a later stage.
Infiniti to raise ₹750 crore from Tata Sons for Croma expansion
Infiniti Retail, the Tata Group’s smartphone and electronic retailing business which owns the Croma stores, plans to raise ₹750 crore from the holding company — Tata Sons — over the next two years to part finance its expansion plans, The Economic Times reported citing its latest regulatory disclosures. For this, Infiniti Retail last month doubled its authorised share capital to ₹2,000 crore from ₹1,000 crore to issue fresh equity to the parent company. The company said in the flings it has plans for faster expansion across the nation with significant investment in ecommerce and digital solutions to enhance consumer experience and operating efficiency. Last fiscal, 22 new Croma stores were launched which the company said is the highest in any financial year aided by the introduction of goods and services tax and shift to digital payments taking the total number of outlets to 130.
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