Bharti Airtel to acquire Telenor India

Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it will buy Telenor India in a further indication of the consolidation underway in telecom as a result of Reliance Jio shaking up the sector with its pricing and deep pockets.

The deal will give Airtel more spectrum and marketshare to take on Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, a serious challenger to its number one position.

Although both Bharti Airtel and Telenor India did not disclose the deal size, analysts’ reports and internal company sources said it could be in the range of ₹1,500-1,800 crore.

“The Airtel-Telenor merger is a strong consolidation move by Airtel to counter not only the unlimited offers given by Reliance Jio but also to silence the hype around the Vodafone-Idea merger to become the largest telecom company,” said Kapil Nayyar of International Business Advisors.

Telenor India’s operations and services will continue as normal until the completion of the transaction, expected by the first quarter of the next financial year (between April and June).

“The decision to exit India has been taken after thorough consideration. It is our view that significant investments are needed to secure Telenor India’s future business, as on a standalone basis it will not give an acceptable level of return,” said Sigve Brekke, Chief Executive Officer of the Telenor Group.

Telenor will receive zero cash and hand over the business on a debt-free basis to Airtel (refinancing the outstanding local debt first). Airtel would also take on the residual future liabilities, including around Norwegian Krone (NOK) 2 billion of spectrum and NOK 5 billion in lease obligations.

As part of the agreement, Airtel will acquire Telenor India’s running operations in seven circles — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh East and West, and Assam.

For more details, kindly click the following link:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/rjio-effect-bharti-airtel-to-acquire-telenor-india/article9556424.ece

Hero FinCorp discloses Rs 1000 Cr fundraising plan

Hero FinCorp, the retail lending arm of Hero MotoCorp, has unveiled its plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore in a fresh round of funding from private equity (PE) investors.

Singapore investment firm, Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ltd., and India-focused PE fund, ChrysCapital LLC are in the final stages of talks with Hero FinCorp.

Hero FinCorp’s promoters may sell about 20-25% stake for $100-120 million. The funded amount will be used for expansion of business and diversification to non-organic areas. As part of the deal, Hero FinCorp could dilute partial stake for raising this money.

Currently, Hero MotoCorp has 40% stake in Hero FinCorp.

The non-banking finance company (NBFC) has a presence at over 1,000 retail financing touch-points across Hero MotoCorp’s network and has partnered with more than 200 satisfied corporate clients.

For more details, kindly click below

http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/hero-fincorp-hero-fincorp-discloses-rs-1000-cr-fundraising-plan-117022300322_1.html

Fino Paytech to launch payment bank, targets high domestic remittance areas

Fino Paytech to launch payment bank in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with 400 branches in the initial phase

New Delhi: In an attempt to expand their consumer base and carve out their own individual identity , Fino Paytech—one of the entities to receive in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)—will focus on areas having maximum domestic remittances to extend its banking services.

Fino, which is expected to launch its payment bank operations soon, will provide services like basic banking products such as withdrawal and deposits as well as third-party products like insurance and remittances while continuing to serve their primary responsibility of a technology-solution provider and banking correspondent (BC) to other banks.

With a target of opening 400 bank branches across 30 cities on its opening day, Fino will also provide the basic services of account opening and cash withdrawal in additional 15,000 access points outside these branches.

to read more, please click on the link below:

http://www.livemint.com/Industry/3Pa8co04rbkkNOZAka66rK/Fino-Paytech-to-launch-payment-bank-targets-high-domestic-r.html