The Venture Intelligence Blog

The following companies are seeking capital for starting-up / expanding their operations: 07-07-25-1: Mumbai-based entrepreneur seek 07-07-25-2: Kangra, HP-based company which has won 3 mini hydro power projects in Himachal Pradesh seeks $1-5 M. 07-07-25-3: Mathura, UP-based company seeks $5-M for expanding play school chain. 07-07-25-4: Noida, UP-based software company specializing in Web & Multimedia development seeks 07-07-25-5: Chennai-based provider of cereal and milk vending machines to IT companies seeks $1-5 M. Has already installed 80 machines with daily cuppage of 12,000. For more information about any of these companies, investors - who are subscribers to the Venture Intelligence service - can email the company code to vcmarket@ventureintelligence.in . To learn about our subscription services for investors, please visit our web site . Are you an entrepreneur seeking capital? List your company in the Venture Intelligence VC Market using the form here

Economic Times has a profile of Citigroup PE's India head Ajay Relan and the firm's recent investments. A majority of the 25 companies in its portfolio are small cap firms that are not based in the Mumbai, Delhi or other large industrial clusters. Last December, in a PE variant of the bottom-of-the-pyramid strategy, Relan invested $25 million investment in KS Oils, a mustard and rapeseed oil manufacturer based out of Morena in Madhya Pradesh. ...Having worked alongside the likes of Bill Comfort, the former chairman of CVCI and a Citigroup legend, Relan says he benefitted from watching the best in action. “The most important lessons of the PE business that I learnt from watching him was to be patient, and keep a relentless focus on good management,” he says. Despite CVCI’s successes, Relan laments the fact that he missed the telecom bus in India. “In the late 1990s and early 2000s you needed something like $300 million to play alongside the Sunil Mittals. We never had that kind...

In this exclusive article that appeared in the July issue of the US-IVCA/Venture Intelligence India VC report , Rahul Chandra and Ashish Gupta of Helion Ventures , reflect on the valuation-related conundrums challenging VC investments in India. Valuation! One single metric that both Founders and VCs try to optimize yet whose derivation remains more art than science. While the importance of valuation cannot be discounted (ask a VC after he is invested and a founder anytime) a market driven approach to seek valuation level can ensure a faster track to fund raising, a holistic setting of investment terms and greater discipline in business execution. VC investments are on the rise since early 2006. In the absence of complete and accurate data, it is hard to conclusively say how valuations have trended with this increase in number of deals done. Let’s look at the four key approaches to valuation: valuing present value of cash flows, accounting value of business, using real options and the ...

Business Today's article on serviced apartments posits that their costs need to come down significantly in order to compete with hotels. Consider the Taj Wellington Mews in Mumbai where a two-bedroom unit could cost between Rs 6,50,000 and Rs 7,25,000 per month, a three-bedroom between Rs 7,85,000-8,25,000 per month and a four-bedroom, Rs 25,00,000 per month-all rates exclusive of the 10 per cent applicable tax. Things at the Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments in Powai are no better-depending on the length of stay and the type of apartment, you could end up coughing up $220-420 (Rs 9,020-17,220) per night. And that, of course, does not include any captive services you might avail of-laundry, telephone and restaurants. So then, if you are paying the price of a five-star deluxe hotel, why not stay in a full-service hotel? Especially when, as Chidara says, you cannot make the slightest change in the décor of the apartment, which in any case intimidates his friends and rela...

Business Today has an article on the boom - and the associated risks - in the hotel industry. It includes a box on the rising number of PE investments in the industry. The demand-supply mismatch of hotel rooms is so acute that even the stand-alone, mom-n-pop hotels are quoting room tariffs that are 40 to 50 per cent of five star rates. That probably explains the announcements of $10 billion in investments over the next five to 10 years, with $3 billion expected to materialise over the next four years. The capacity addition: 70,000 rooms across all categories. That's an incredible number compared to the scenario even two years ago. Back in 2005, the foreign direct investment (FDI) in hospitality was 1 per cent of the $10.3 billion that flowed in. However, the hardening of interest rates since the time most of these announcements were made may prompt a rethink on the size of investment. The segments that most of the investors seem to be interested in are budget and mid-market. The r...

Businessworld has an article on the rising trend of marketing products using "eco-friendly" tags. The perception that green makes business sense is gaining ground even in India. Energy-saving lights, organic foods, recycled bags and accessories, eco-tourism and environment-friendly residential complexes — consumers are being nudged into buying a diverse array of products that are good for them and for the environment. Companies are being helped along by two factors. First: rising levels of disposable income in urban centres. And second, a greater understanding of the Indian green consumer. It is clear to most that the green Indian takes time to evolve into the green consumer. Transition depends on the three Cs: convenience, cost and concern for the environment. Companies are drawing up innovative marketing and awareness strategies around these major influencers to hasten the makeover. ...The truth is that cost and convenience do play a large role in the decision-making proce...

Who is behind BharatStudent , the latest social networking company on the scene that is rivaling some of the online travel sites in ad spending? According to the site, BharatStudent is owned by "Axill Europe Ltd, a 400 million dollar company focused on Internet, the media transcending the digital boundaries of the Globe". Impressive collections of words indeed; but what exactly is Axill Europe? Well, a bit more web searching reveals that this company is a part of Hyderabad-based, publicly-listed Northgate Technologies . (Stock details here .) Northgate, which had raised funding from a group of FIIs including Merrill Lynch in 2005, also runs other Internet-linked businesses like Globe7 (a video ads-supported Internet telephony services), Axill (an Online Advertising Exchange) and a "server farm". So, the next time you see another Internet-property springing up with an orange ribbon as part of the logo, you need not mistake it - like I did - for being a part of the B...