Private equity firm New Silk Route Advisors has bought the UK investment group Dawnay Day’s stake in its Indian business, Dawnay Day AV India for about Rs 200 crore, reports Mint. The sale includes Dawnaday International’s 50 percent stake in the Indian venture and the employee trust’s 25 percent holding as well. The deal includes only the stock brokerage and third party distribution business. It does not include its financial research arm, Dawnay Day AV Analytics Pvt. Ltd and Dawnay Day Hotels India Pvt. Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Dawnay Day International.
Dawnay Day AV India is a joint venture between Alok Vajpeyi, ex-DSP Merrill Lynch official, and Dawnay Day International, the financial services arm of the UK-based Dawnay Day Group. Alok Vajpeyi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Dawnay Day AV Financial Services has also sold his 25 percent stake to the foreign private equity investor.
Dawnay Day mulling a stake sale to private equity investors has been on the cards for quite some time now , what really comes as the piece of news is Vajpeyi selling his stake to the investors. VC Circle could not independently confirm the news, however the Mint report pegs the valuation at Rs 200 crore, where the two businesses being sold are valued at 40 crores and the remaining 160 crore is the value of Dawnay Day AV’s office spread across Mumbai and Pune.
Of the Rs 200 crore, Rs 80 crore will be used to retire a Dawnay Day AV loan from HSBC Holdings Plc; and another Rs 80 crore will go towards repaying the preferential capital issued by Dawnay Day International, adds the report.
Vajpeyi has made his fortune anyways. It was only three years back that he put in Rs 2-5 crore and will take out 21 crore now.
Dawnay Day, the U.K. based investment company is mulling sale of many of its assets as it needs to raise cash for its stricken empire quickly. The failed company’s portfolio assets has evinced enough interest from people as the company puts its portfolio up for sale. Before the collapse, the company had $4bn (£2.15bn) in assets and $6bn under management for clients.

Posted on 08/21/08, 8:57 AM
in: Private Equity
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