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Grapevine: Piramal eyes debt from Apollo; GVK in talks with Adani, others for MIAL

By Ankit Agarwal

  • 24 Aug 2020
Grapevine: Piramal eyes debt from Apollo; GVK in talks with Adani, others for MIAL
Credit: Shah Junaid/VCCircle

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance (PCHF) is looking to raise a loan of up to $500 million (Rs 3,743 crore) from Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, two people in the know told The Economic Times.

A Business Standard report also cited people as saying that PCHF will raise the money; Apollo will come in as a senior lender in certain developer loans Piramal will give and it will have the first rights on a project’s cash flow.

Last year, a Goldman Sachs unit had bought PCHF's loans worth Rs 2,000 crore ($286.5 million) to Lodha Developers.

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Also, an investor consortium has allowed GVK to start talks with Adani group and others for Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), people in the know told The Economic Times.

The consortium comprises India’s sovereign wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Canada’s Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investments.

A Business Standard report said that the Adani group is set to acquire a 74% stake in MIAL with the current operator settling its disputes with its minority partner and exiting the venture.

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With six airports already under its belt, this will make the group the largest private airport operator with ownership of the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport, in which MIAL holds 74%.

In July this year, CBI charged the GVK Group promoters with siphoning off funds totalling Rs 705 crore as well as with money laundering. This led to SBI—a key lender to the MIAL – choking any additional funds to the group. Earlier in the year, SBI had taken over as lead financier for the Navi Mumbai airport project.

Meanwhile, digital cataloguing platform Text Mercato, which serves e-commerce, has raised Rs 4.85 crore ($646,000) in a funding led by 1Crowd.

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Others that participated are Hong Kong-based startup accelerator Betatron, as well as angel investors Andrew Dell and Sequent Software finance chief Raaj Shah, the platform said in a statement.

The platform, run by Text Mercato Solutions Pvt Ltd, was set up by Kiran Ramakrishna and Subhajit Mukherjee in 2015.

Also, Dream11, the lead sponsor of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), is in advanced talks with at least four private equity firms to close a $235 million (Rs 1,758 crore) deal at an increased valuation of up to $2.5 billion, people familiar with the development told The Indian Express.

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This deal consists of a $35 million primary infusion and a $200 million secondary sale of shares. Tencent shareholding may come down to single digit from 10.9%, the people said.

The round may include participation from private equity firms TPG Capital, Tiger Global Management and Footpath Ventures, among others, said the people.

Dream11, which was founded 12 years ago by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, runs fantasy sporting leagues across cricket, football, baseball and basketball.

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Separately, the private equity arm of financial services powerhouse Morgan Stanley is looking to sell its 20% stake in Mumbai-based active pharma ingredients (API) maker and exporter ZCL Chemicals (formerly Zandu Chemicals), people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol.

The promoters of the firm, the Parikh family, may also evaluate an exit provided the transaction is struck at the desired valuations, these people said.

“The promoters are seeking a valuation of 15 times projected FY21 Ebitda (which is Rs 120-130 crore). This translates into a valuation of Rs 1,800-1,950 crore for the firm. If they get this valuation, a majority stake sale is on the cards,” one of the persons told Moneycontrol.

In July 2020, VCCircle had reported that Morgan Stanley is looking to sell its stake in ZCL Chemicals.

In December 2016, Morgan Stanley PE Asia had picked up 20% of ZCL Chemicals for Rs 170 crore, valuing the firm at around Rs 850 crore.

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