The Venture Intelligence Blog

In an article appearing in AltAssets, James Kelly of US-based law firm Nixon Peabody LLP, talks about the increasing "hybrid" strategies adopted by hedge funds and how PE firms need to counter this. While the article is written based on the US context, parts of it are relevant for other rapidly maturing markets like India - where hedge funds like Galleon, DE Shaw, Passport, Quantum, etc. are becoming increasingly active in traditional PE turf - as well. In our view, hybrid funds will likely begin to play a bigger role in the middle market. As money continues to pour into private equity funds and hedge funds alike, these funds find themselves in bidding wars as competition for deals rapidly increases. Further, as the markets have become more efficient and the role of transactional intermediaries has increased, proprietary deals are becoming rarer and auctions commonplace. Aside from the obvious intangible currencies of operating focus and expertise, timing, and track record,...

Bloomberg columnist William Pesek has an interesting theory on the correlation between tallest-building projects and financial crises. It happened in Kuala Lumpur in 1997, Chicago in 1974, New York in 1930 and in biblical times with the Tower of Babel. A bizarre coincidence perhaps, yet humankind's propensity for architectural overreach has been a reliable omen of meltdowns. Taiwan, which in 2004 became home to the tallest building, was arguably affected. Its economy didn't implode, so much as it's disappearing.... ...The thing about record-breaking skyscrapers is that they can say as much about hubris as wealth, ambition and technology. Is Dubai a development miracle? Or is it the center of an Arabian asset bubble tied to surging oil prices? At least for the moment, it would appear to be the former. Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of information and networking services to the private equity and venture capital ecosyste...

The following companies are seeking capital for starting-up / expanding their operations: 07-11-21-1: Hyderabad based company seeks 07-11-21-2: Kolkata based Enterprise software company seeks 07-11-21-3: Panchkula, HR based company providing agricultural financing and support services in the areas of land cultivation, marketing, IT applications, decision support systems, outsourcing services, capacity building etc. to farmers and lending institutions seeks 07-11-21-4: Bangalore based battery maker, with over 25 years of experience in the industry, seeks about $5 M to set up manufacturing of Lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles scooters and cars. 07-11-21-5: Niligiris, TN-based floriculture and horticulture firm seeks $2.25 M for expansion and diversification. 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 se...

Business Today has an off-beat article on the business of exporting carrom boards. This unmatched frenzy at Meerut, a sports goods manufacturing hub of India, is triggered by the preparations for the Holy month of Ramzan in the Gulf countries. Sales of carrom boards in countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain increase by almost 50 per cent in the month of Ramzan, the fasting period that culminates in Id-Ul-Fitr, the biggest festival for Muslims. “During this period, the timing of the offices changes in the Gulf countries. People work from 9 in the evening till 4:30 in the morning and keep their shops closed during the daytime. Since playing cards is considered haram (profane), people prefer to play carrom that is considered a great leisure activity for the entire family,” says Anil Mahajan, Director, Himco International, an export unit based in Meerut. Anil Mahajan is one of the 300-odd manufacturers of carrom boards, bulk of whose business happens two months precedin...

Business Today has published its latest annual listing of "hip and happening" companies. This year's list includes a VC firm - APIDC-Ventureast. Other cool companies include two Canaan Partners back companies Cellcast (Mobile VAS) and TechTribe (online business networking). For a fund that goes by the name of Apidc Venture Capital, its seven partners are anything but old fashioned. One is a blues guitarist who’s done gigs at blues bars in Chicago; another is an amateur bartender who can knock up deadly margaritas and mojitos; the third has an abiding passion for interior decoration, the fourth is a meditation expert, the fifth is a long-distance runner, the sixth has co-founded an art gallery, and the seventh founded a ‘Heart of a Child Foundation’ with Sylvester Stallone as one of its patrons. But guess what? That’s not the reason why APIDCVC—managed by Sarath Naru, Chandra Shekhar Reddy Kundur, Aditya Kapil, Ramesh Alur, Raghuveer Mendu, Venkatadri Bobba and Siddharth...

Business Today has an article on how Hollywood studios are now aggressively tapping into the regional language market in India. Thus far, Hollywood studios have had only a peripheral presence in India, sticking to the traditional business of distributing their own—and sometimes, independently made films— in the country. Result: Hollywood’s share of the Indian film entertainment pie is a minuscule 3-4 per cent. But the big money lies in producing and distributing local films, and that is the path that some of the big boys of Hollywood are now taking. ...Hollywood first began testing the waters in the regional language market with dubbed versions of its English hits. The trend started with Jurassic Park in 1994. This was followed by Titanic in 1998. The success of these two films—the dubbed versions contributed as much as 25 to 40 per cent of their gross collections in India—highlighted the potential of the market. These were followed by Spiderman and Spiderman 2, Godzilla and Casino R...

Businessworld has an article on private participation in Indian port development. Ever since India struck its first privatisation deal in 1996 when Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal was awarded to global port operator P&O (since bought by Dubai Ports), Indian ports have attracted Rs 7,585 crore in private investment: an average of Rs 700-plus crore a year. That’s still a trickle compared to the Rs 7,000 crore per year required in the next five years, but it has helped. The average turnaround time for Indian ports has improved from 5.23 days in 1998-99 to 3.5 days now. Then, efficiency has taken a hit, even in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which handles more than half the containers being shipped to India, despite two of its terminals being privatised. Ramnath Iyer, director at Delhi-based Crisil Risk and Infrastructure Solutions, says the average time a ship has to wait before docking on to a berth at JNPT, the most efficient port, is 10 hours. In Singapore, the w...