1.Bharti Plans to Raise Rs 2,500 Crore via Sale of Infratel Shares
Bharti Airtel, India’s top telecom operator, is looking to raise over Rs 2,500 crore through a sale of shares in telecom tower unit Bharti Infratel, adding to a war chest it is building to buy airwaves in next month’s auction. The bidding for the 900 MHz spectrum is expected to be fierce as spectrum is increasingly gaining currency as a leading band for providing wireless data services. Read more here.
2.Infosys Co-founder Invests In Start-up Which Delivers Fruits and Vegetables
Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan is co-investing in FreshWorld, a Bengaluru startup which delivers fruits and vegetables straight from farms to homes, as he looks to deepen his profile as an angel investor. FreshWorld sells fruits and vegetables like a street vendor using electric carts. Gopalakrishnan whose net worth is over Rs. 9,301 crore has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in the fourteen- month old firm.Read more here.
3.We intend to pay everyone, unlike Kingfisher, Says New Owner of SpiceJet
A day after the Marans transferred their SpiceJet shares to Ajay Singh forRs 400 crore, the new owner has said that he clearly wants to distinguish SpiceJet from Kingfisher Airlines.
The most important task for me is to show our intent of paying everyone, unlike Kingfisher. We have cleared all dues to our employees.
For now, he says he is going to ensure that flights leave and land on time. Read the Business Standard interview here.
4.Carlyle picks up Destimoney’s 49% stake in PNB Housing Finance
US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group beat off stiff competition to acquire a 49 per cent stake in PNB Housing Finance from Destimoney Enterprises PrivateLtd (DEPL). PNB Housing Finance is the mortgage finance arm of one of India’s largest public sector lenders, Punjab National Bank, which owns 51 percent, and is the fourth largest housing finance company in the country. Read more here.
5. DST may invest up to $500m in Ola at $2.5bn valuation
Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s investment firm DST Global has held talks with taxi-hailing startup Ola to lead a $400-500 million (approximately Rs 3,000-crore) financing round at a valuation of $2.5billion. This comes on the back of Ola’s acquisition of TaxiForSure (TFS), making the combined entity the largest technology backed cab aggregator service in the country. Read more here.
6. Fiscal reforms to determine India’s rating, Moody’s
Moody’s Investors Service said that its assessment of India’s credit ratings will be determined mainly by the extent of its fiscal reforms, not recent revisions to its economic growth data. The comments come a day after rival Standard & Poor’s said India must boost growth, cut its fiscal deficit and fulfil promises of financial and fiscal reforms in order to justify an upgrade in its credit rating. Read more here.
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