India’s largest home loan provider Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has announced the closure of its $800 million international real estate fund, HIREF International LLC. It’s a nine-year close-ended fund registered in Mauritius, and has been raised from 28 foreign investors. The fund will invest in FDI-compliant real estate projects in India and target a [...]

South Indian media group Sun TV Network has bought a 48.9 per cent stake in Red FM, a leading FM radio player in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL), the subsidiary of Sun TV, has picked up the stake.
According to information available with Bombay Stock Exchange, the promoters of Red FM - [...]

US-based real estate firm Hines has set up a $300-million India-dedicated real estate fund, reports Business Standard. It already has a subsidiary in India called - Hines India Real Estate. According to Yash Gupta, joint managing director, Hines India, the firm can “sponsor projects up to a billion dollars in total value”.
Hines opened its India [...]

Media company Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL) has picked up an undisclosed stake in an online hotel booking company TravelMasti. It provides internet-based travel related services to domestic and inbound tourists and corporates for their conferences.
TravelMasti’s current business mix comprises domestic clients (60 per cent), inbound clients (25 per cent) and corporate conference clients [...]

In a private equity-backed buyout, Apollo Health Street, the BPO arm of hospital chain Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL), has bought out a US based medical BPO business Zavata for $170 million. The deal involves an equity component of $50 million and a debt of $120 million. The equity contribution from Apollo is $25 million, [...]

Is Sequoia Capital India-backed helathcare analytics firm marketRx selling out? The Economic Times today front-pages a story that tech giants Infosys Technologies and Wipro are looking to buy marketRx in a deal that could be valued as much as $150-160 million. If this is true, this is probably the first time both Infosys and Wipro [...]

Srei Infrastructure Finance has acquired a 76 per cent stake in an Andhra Pradesh government promoted venture fund. Srei has picked up stake in Hyderabad Information Technology Venture Enterprises Ltd (HITVEL), a venture capital fund set up in 2000 by the Andhra Pradesh Development Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and the Small Industries [...]

NDTV Profit reports that the stake sale in Patni Computers is finalised. It said private equity funds Apax Partners and Cerebrus Private Equity are picking 45 per cent stake in Patni. The sellers will include brothers Ashok and Gajendra Patni, who hold about 29 per cent stake. General Atlantic, the existing private equity investor, is [...]

Dubai-headquartered private equity investment management firm Baer Capital Partners is launching a $250 million India-dedicated hedge fund by end of the year, reports Business Standard. It’s likely to be called Beacon India Growth Fund. Baer Capital has also applied for foreign institutional investor (FII) registration, Alok Sama, President & Founder, Baer Capital Partners, informs BS. [...]

World Bank private equity arm International Finance Corporation has invested $12 million for an undisclosed equity in fibre glass maker Owens Corning India Ltd (OCIL). The capital will be used to expand its manufacturing facility in Maharashtra.
OCIL is a joint venture between Owens Corning USA, which owned 78.5 per cent, and Mahindra & Mahindra, which [...]

This will be the second instance of institutional financing in the preparatory or tutorial business in India. Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials has landed $12 million investment from the Mauritius-based India-focused fund Helix Investments, reports Business Standard and The Times of India. Helix will pick up a 30 per cent stake in the company, MT Educare Pvt [...]

Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital funds, has reportedly kicked out equally celebrated limited partner (investor in venture capital funds) Yale University from its partner group. The highly sensitive conflict between the fund and its LP was reported by Wall Street Journal. The ground for the conflict was that the investors like [...]

Here are a few firms who are looking to raise venture capital or private equity.
Radaan Mediaworks: The Chennai-based television content producer Radaan Mediaworks is in the market to raise private equity funds. The publicly listed company had a turnover of Rs 45 crore and net profits of Rs 1.6 crore last year.
The company chairperson Radhika [...]

This just in. Indian BPO firm FirstSource Solutions has acquired MedAssist Holdings, a US-based provider of revenue cycle management to the healthcare industry, for $330 million. Firstsource has informed stock exchanges that the company has entered into an agreement with the US company. NDTV Profit reports that FirtSource plans to raise a debt of $275 [...]

Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) has completed its demutualisation (sort of privatisation) process by selling 52 per cent stake to a roster of 25 investors. Among the 25 investors include the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), KK Birla group company Texmaco, BK Birla group firm Kesoram Industries, Kolkata-based fastener exporter Patton India and Hindustan National Glass, West [...]