Starbucks, Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover: Remembering Ratan Tata’s global ambitions

Getty Images Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, speaks during a session advising Singapore startups in Singapore, on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Tata stepped down as the chairman of the $100 billion Tata Group in 2012.Getty Images

Ratan Tata, the billionaire and former chairman of Tata Group, who passed away at the age of 86, played a significant role in the modernization and globalization of one of India’s oldest company buildings.

His ability to take strong, daring business risks served as the foundation of the salt-to-steel conglomerate, which his forefathers founded 155 years previously, despite India’s liberalization of its economy in the 1990s.

At the turn of the millennium, Tata executed the biggest cross-border merger in American business record- getting Tetley Tea, the country’s second largest maker of teabags. The little Tata party firm that had purchased the classic British brand was three times the size of it.

His party swallowed up big American business giants like the shipbuilder Corus and the luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover as his ambitions grew just bigger in the years that followed.

Although the acquisitions were n’t always successful, Corus was purchased just before the 2007 global financial crisis, which hampered Tata Steel’s performance for years.

They also had a great symbolic impact, says Mircea Raianu, writer and creator of Tata: The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism. He goes on to say that they “represented the kingdom striking up” when a company from a former colony seized the motherland’s prized possessions, reversing the sneering approach American businessmen had toward the Tata Group a decade before.

Getty Images The blast furnaces, that are scheduled to be closed, at the Port Talbot Steelworks, operated by Tata Steel Ltd., beyond the River Afan in Port Talbot, UK, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Getty Images

International interests

The Tata Group’s view had been “outward-oriented” from the very end, according to Andrea Goldstein, an analyst who published a study in 2008 on the internationalisation of American companies, with a special emphasis on Tata.

As early as in the 1950s, Tata companies operated with foreign partners.

But Ratan Tata was keen to “internationalise in giant strides, not in token, incremental steps”, Ms Goldstein pointed out.

According to Mr. Raianu, his unconventional education in architecture and a ringside view of his family group companies may have contributed to how he considered expanding. But it was the” structural transformation of the group” he steered, that allowed him to execute his vision for a global footprint.

Tata had to fight an extraordinary corporate feud when he assumed the position of chairman of Tata Sons in 1991, which happened to coincide with India’s decision to open up its economy.

By opening the door to a number of” satraps” ( a Persian term for an imperial governor ) at Tata Steel, Tata Motors, and the Taj Group of Hotels, which operated with little corporate oversight from the holding company, he began centralizing increasingly decentralized, domestic-focused operations.

By doing this, he prevented the Tata Group, which had been shielded from foreign competition, from fading into irrelevance as India opened up, as well as enabling him to surround himself with people who could assist him in carrying out his global vision.

He appointed foreigners, non-resident Indians, and executives with connections and networks throughout the management team at both Tata Sons, the holding company, and individual groups within it.

He established the Group Corporate Center ( GCC ) to provide group companies with strategic direction. It provided” M&amp, A]mergers and acquisitions ] advisory support, helped the group companies to mobilise capital and assessed whether the target company would fit into the Tata’s values”, researchers at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore wrote in a 2016 paper.

The GCC also provided funding for Tata Motors ‘ well-known acquisitions, including Jaguar Land Rover, which had a significant impact on how the world saw a business that was essentially a tractor manufacturer.

The JLR takeover was widely regarded as “revengeance” on Ford, which mocked Tata Motors in the early 1990s and then received a beating on the deal by Tata Motors. Together, these acquisitions suggested that Indian corporations were “arrived” on the global stage as economic growth rates increased and liberalization reforms were taking off, according to Mr. Raianu.

The$ 12 billion group currently has operations in 100 different nations, with non-Indians making a sizable portion of its total revenues.

Getty Images Tata Sons Chairman - Ratan Tata poses alongside the Tata Nano at its launch in Mumbai on Monday.Getty Images

The misses

While the Tata Group made significant strides overseas in the early 2000s, domestically the failure of the Tata Nano – launched and marketed as the world’s cheapest car – was a setback for Tata.

This was his most ambitious project, but he had clearly misread India’s consumer market this time.

Brand experts claim that an aspirational India did n’t want to associate with the affordable car tag. And Tata himself eventually admitted that the “poor man’s car” tag was a” stigma” that needed to be undone.

He thought that his company might be able to revive its product, but the Tata Nano was eventually discontinued after sales dropped year over year.

The Tata Group’s succession became a contentious topic as well.

Mr Tata remained far too involved in running the conglomerate after his retirement in 2012, through the “backdoor” of the Tata Trust which owns two-thirds of the stock holding of Tata Sons, the holding company, say experts.

Ratan Tata’s involvement in the succession dispute with [Cyrus ] Mistry undoubtedly tarnished the reputation of the group, according to Mr. Rainu, without blaming him for it.

Following a boardroom coup that sparked a long-running legal battle that the Tatas eventually won, Mistry, who died in a car crash in 2022, was ousted as chairman of Tata in 2016.

Getty Images Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Group, at Jaguar Pavilion during 11th Auto Expo held at Pragati Maidan on January 5, 2012 in New Delhi, India. Tata Motors-owned Jaguar showcased two new models, C-X16 and C-X75 here at Auto Expo 2012.Getty Images

A lasting legacy

Tata left his vast empire in a much stronger position both domestically and internationally in spite of the numerous missteps he took in 2012, leaving it much more financially stable.

Along with making significant acquisitions, his effort to modernize the company with a sharp focus on IT has been successful over the years.

When many of his big bets went sour, one high-performing firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), along with JLR carried the “dead weight of other ailing companies”, Mr Raianu says.

TCS is today India’s largest IT services company and the cash cow of the Tata Group, contributing to three-quarters of its revenue.

Around 69 years after the government took control of the airline, the Tata Group also brought back India’s flagship carrier Air India in 2022. Given how expensive it is to operate an airline, Ratan Tata, a trained pilot himself, was a dream come true.

However, the Tatas appear to be more in a position to place significant bets on everything from semiconductor manufacturing to airlines.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it appears that India has clearly adopted a “national champions” policy, which requires a few large conglomerates to be built up and promoted in order to achieve rapid economic growth that spans priority sectors.

The odds are clearly stacked in favor of the Tata Group from this, along with younger industrial groups like Adani.

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IHH Healthcare snaps up Malaysia’s Island Hospital for 6m | FinanceAsia

A consortium led by previate equity player Affinity Equity Partners has sold its 100% stake in Malaysia’s Island Hospital to IHH Healthcare (IHH), a Kuala Lumpur-headquartered international healthcare group.

The 100% sale at a value of RM4.2 billion ($966 million) includes Affinity’s 78% stake, with the remainder of the shares belonging to the founder & CEO, Mark Wee, and senior doctors of the hospital.

Founded in 1996, Island Hospital (pictured) is a leading 600-bed healthcare provider in Penang, Malaysia, with 119 specialists across 40 medical and surgical specialties. Island Hospital attracts around one in three inbound foreign patients to Malaysia, according to a statement from Affinity. Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing parts of the Malaysian private healthcare market.

Under Affinity’s ownership, Island Hospital expanded its original 300-bed facility, through the development of the adjoining Peel Wing during the pandemic. Additional land has been acquired with approvals secured for future development, a media announcement said. 

Since Affinity bought the hospital in 2015 for an undisclosed amount, Island Hospital expanded its medical and surgical offerings through recruitment and investments in medical infrastructure, resulting in a tripling of foreign patient volumes. During this period, profitability more than tripled, driven by mofd complex cases, and higher operating efficiency from the doubling of bed capacity, according to the announcement. 

Island Hospital also invested in its core specialties of orthopaedics, gastroenterology and general surgery, and established new centres of excellence in cardiology and cancer.

Rippledot Capital Advisors acted as the sole financial advisor to the Affinity-led consortium on this transaction.

“Island Hospital’s evolution into a leading healthcare institution that positively impacts the community, stakeholders, and serves as a beacon of medical excellence in Malaysia and beyond . . .  I’m confident that Island Hospital will continue to thrive under the IHH platform,” said Tang Kok Yew, founding chairman and managing partner, Affinity Equity Partners, in a statement.

Affinity Equity Partners is one of the largest independent private equity firms in Asia Pacific (Apac), investing in Asia Private Equity since 1998. Affinity has $14 billion of assets and funds under management, and is currently investing out of Fund V, a $6 billion fund. Affinity’s investment focus includes Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Greater China. 

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Blackstone and CPP Investments agree Abn AirTrunk acquisition | FinanceAsia

Blackstone Real Estate Partners, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, and Blackstone’s private equity strategy for individual investors, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ( CPP Investments ), have agreed to acquire AirTrunk, an Asia Pacific ( Apac ) data center firm, in a deal worth around A$ 24 billion ($ 16 billion ).

The sum includes both capital expenditures for devoted projects and debt. &nbsp,

The sellers are Macquarie Asset Management ( MAM ), Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board ( PSP Investments ) and other investors. In April 2020, a MAM consortium purchased an 88 % stake in AirTrunk for about A$ 3 billion. &nbsp,

While a spokeswoman for Blackstone told&nbsp, FinanceAsia it is not providing&nbsp, a malfunction of the collateral percent, CPP Investments said in a company statement that it would be acquiring 12 % of AirTrunk. CPP Investments said it has info center joint ventures and opportunities in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, in addition to the US.

The package, if completed, may be Blackstone’s largest expense in Apac. The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board has approved the exchange.

AirTrunk is the largest information centre program in Apac, with a reputation across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. According to a statement from Blackstone, it has more than 800 megawatts ( MW) of customer commitments and is the owner of land that can support over 1GW of regional growth. AirTrunk agreed a record sustainability-linked loan ( SLL ) of A$ 4.6 billion last year. &nbsp,

Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, said:” AirTrunk is another important step as Blackstone seeks to be the top digital infrastructure investment in the world across the ecology, including data centers, strength and associated services” .&nbsp,

” Digital system is experiencing unprecedented demand driven by the Artificial revolution as well as the broader digitization of the business,” said Nadeem Meghji, world co-head of Blackstone Real Estate.

They added:” Prior to AirTrunk, Blackstone’s portfolio consisted of$ 55 billion of data centers including facilities under construction, along with over$ 70 billion in prospective pipeline development. To more accede to its progress, we look forward to working with the top management team at AirTrunk.

As we get the next wave of progress from cloud providers and AI and support the energy transition in Apac, Robin Khuda, chairman and chief executive officer of AirTrunk, stated:” This deal shows the strength of the AirTrunk system in a strong performing business.”

We look forward to working with Blackstone and CPP Investments, gaining from their size money, industry experience, and extensive network across the various local markets, which will help assist AirTrunk’s expansion, Khuda continued.

This investment marks yet another milestone in our broader data center approach, according to Max Biagosch, top managing director, global head of Real Property, and nose of Europe for CPP Investments, in a speech from CPP Investments. Our infrastructure and real estate teams seamlessly collaborated to underwrite this investment, which is a great example of close collaboration across the fund.

According to a statement from Blackstone, approximately$ 1 trillion in US capital expenditures will be expected over the next five years to be made to build and facilitate new data centers, and another$ 1 trillion in US capital expenditures will be made, according to a statement from the company. &nbsp,

Blackstone has invested in both the debt and equity of other data center companies, including&nbsp, QTS, Coreweave and Digital Realty. &nbsp,

The Hanam Data Center was acquired by Macquarie Asset Management via Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund earlier this year in the Greater Seoul Area of South Korea. The sale price was KRW734 billion ($ 530 million ), however, including the transaction cost and additional capital required to complete the remaining mechanical, electrical and plumbing works at Hanam IDC, the total sale size was KRW918 billion.

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Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agree bn AirTrunk deal | FinanceAsia

Blackstone Real Estate Partners, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, and Blackstone’s private equity strategy for individual investors, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, have agreed to acquire AirTrunk, an Asia Pacific ( Apac ) data center firm, in a deal worth around A$ 24 billion ($ 16 billion ).

The sellers are Macquarie Asset Management ( MAM ) and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board ( CPP Investments ). MAM bought a 88 % stake in AirTrunk in April 2020 for a valuation of around A$ 3 billion. &nbsp,

A spokeswoman for Blackstone told&nbsp, FinanceAsia it is not providing&nbsp, a collapse of the equity ratios. The AirTrunk will remain 12 % owned by CPP Investments, according to the statement. CPP Investments said it has information center joint ventures and assets in major centers in Apac, including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, and the US.

The package, if completed, may be Blackstone’s largest expense in Apac. The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board has approved the deal.

AirTrunk is the largest information centre program in Apac, with a reputation across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It owns property that will allow for over 1GW of regional development and has more than 800MW of customer commitments.

This is Blackstone at its best, according to Jon Gray, president and CEO of Blackstone.” We are using our international platform to capitalize on our highest faith design. Another significant development comes as Blackstone strives to be the world’s largest buyer in modern infrastructure, including power, data centers, and related services.

” Digital system is experiencing unprecedented demand driven by the Artificial revolution as well as the broader digitization of the business,” said Nadeem Meghji, world co-head of Blackstone Real Estate.

They added:” Prior to AirTrunk, Blackstone’s portfolio consisted of$ 55 billion of data centers including facilities under construction, along with over$ 70 billion in prospective pipeline development. To further accede to AirTrunk’s progress, we look forward to working with its top-notch management team.

The deal, according to Robin Khuda, founder and CEO of AirTrunk, demonstrates the strength of the AirTrunk program in a strong-performing field as we prepare for the upcoming wave of development from cloud services and AI and aid the transition to energy in Apac.

We look forward to working with Blackstone and CPP Investments, gaining from their size money, industry experience, and extensive network across the various local markets, Khuda continued,” We look forward to working with them.”

In a statement from CPP, senior managing director, global head of Real Property, and head of Europe, Max Biagosch, stated:” This investment adds another step to our broader data center plan, further expanding our footprints in the region for the benefit of CPP donors and beneficiaries. It is also a fantastic illustration of close collaboration between the fund’s infrastructure and actual estate teams working smoothly up to underwrite this investment.

According to a speech from Blackstone, approximately$ 1 trillion in US capital expenditures will be expected over the next five years to be made to build and promote new data centers, and another$ 1 trillion in US funds expenditures will be made, according to a declaration from the company. &nbsp,

Blackstone has invested in the debt and equity of several other data centre firms, including Coreweave and Digital Realty, the fastest-growing data center company in the world, and QTS. &nbsp,

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Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow to add team from Morrison Foerster | FinanceAsia

According to a business press release, Baker McKenzie Wong &amp, Leow, a representative firm of Baker McKenzie in Singapore, is adding a group led by leaders Shirin Tang and Lip Kian Ang. &nbsp,

Tang previously served as the Singapore office’s handling partner and on the agency’s global executive committee. He will visit Morrison Foerster as its foreign partner.

FinanceAsia&nbsp, understands from a top business supply that the group will begin in the “next some weeks” and that a deeper two non-partner lawyers, from the same team, will also be joining Baker McKenzie Wong &amp, Leow from Morrison Foerster. &nbsp,

Tang will meet as co-head of the Singapore M&amp, A process, simultaneously with Boo Bee Chun. Tang has over 20 years of experience in cross-border mergers and acquisitions ( M&amp, A) and private equity transactions across Asia and the US, with a focus on complex and innovative transactions, including capital raising platforms, joint ventures and club deals, portfolio restructuring and exits.

Her exercise spans the administrative real property, technology/e-commerce, life sciences and customer industries. Over the past” several” years, Tang has led transactions worth over$ 35 billion in aggregate, according to the media release. &nbsp,

Ang has experience with foreign cash, multinational companies and financial organizations in large cross-border personal capital, venture capital, M&amp, A, real estate, and finance purchases.

Commenting on the move, Boo Bee Chun, director and co-head of the Singapore M&amp, A process, Baker McKenzie Wong &amp, Leow, said in a declaration:” We are thrilled to welcome Shirin, Lip Kian and crew to our M&amp, A / private equity team, to which they will add more depth. The wealth of experience and strong business skills that they bring will be of substantial value to our clients given that Singapore and Southeast Asia have strong deals and development potential.

James Huang, managing director of Baker McKenzie Wong &amp, Leow, states:” Their joining is more information of our commitment to more expanding our bench strength in Singapore, whose status as a leading international financial and business hub is anticipated to continue to grow substantially in upcoming years.”

Click here for more FinanceAsia people moves. &nbsp,

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Adani Ports and SEZ buys 80% of Singapore’s Astro | FinanceAsia

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India’s largest ports and logistics company, has agreed to acquire a 80% stake in Singapore’s Astro, in an all-cash deal for $185 million, implying an enterprise value of $235 million, according to an August 30 company media release.

Incorporated in 2009, Astro is a leading global offshore support vessel (OSV) operator in the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and Africa.

The Singapore firm owns a fleet of 26 OSVs including anchor handling tugs (AHTs), flat top barges, multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) and workboats and provides vessel management and complementary services. During the year ending 3April 30, 2024, Astro posted $95 million revenue and $41 million earnings, before, interest, tax , depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). As of April 30, 2024, Astro was net cash positive.

Astro’s customers include NMDC, McDermott, COOEC, Larsen & Toubro and Saipem, and is a key player in the offshore construction & fabrication and offshore transportation markets, including oil & gas. 

Astro also helps support the construction and maintenance of offshore platforms, oil & gas fields and subsea facilities allowing it to service the offshore exploration & drilling markets.

Astro’s vessels also support leading international dredging companies, including large offshore construction and land reclamation projects.

In the statement, Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director & CEO, APSEZ, said: “Astro’s acquisition is part of our roadmap to becoming one of the world’s largest marine operators. Astro will add 26 OSVs to our current fleet of 142 tugs and dredgers, taking the total count to 168.”

He added: “The acquisition will also give us access to an impressive roster of tier-1 customers while further consolidating our footprint across the Arabian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and Far East Asia. We look forward to working closely with Astro’s leadership team and scaling up the current platform.”

Mark Humphreys, managing director, Astro Offshore, said: “Over the past 15 years, we have created an impressive company trajectory, driven by strategic investments in our OSV fleet and deep relationships with our customers.”

Humphreys added: “This partnership with APSEZ represents a critical inflection point for us. Together, we can accelerate growth to add further scale and diversity to our fleet mix, expand our geographical footprint and deliver more end-to-end solutions to our customers.”

There are no regulatory approvals required and the transaction is expected to close within a month, subject to fulfilment of operational conditions precedent.

The transaction is expected to be value accretive from the first year, the statement said. 

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FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2024: entries are now open | FinanceAsia

FinanceAsia’s annual Achievement Awards recognises excellence in bringing together those issuers, banks, investors, advisors and other market participants, who are working hard to develop and expand Asia Pacific’s (Apac) financial markets.

This year, for the first time, we are also looking to recognise excellence in the fast-growing markets of the Middle East.

We are looking to recognise the standout companies and strategies that are redefining the way issuers and investors are interacting with markets and adapting to evolving regulatory requirements and diverse needs, amid an increasingly competitive environment.

There are both Deal awards and House awards across a range of categories and markets. For more details please see here for Apac and here for the Middle East. 

In addition, our Deal Maker Poll rewards individuals who have been instrumental in closing some of the region’s most ambitious deals over the last 12 months.

The timeline for the deals is October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

We look forward to your participation and seeing your entries! Please click here to find out how to enter at our dedicated Awards website. For frequently asked questions click here and for list of our experienced judges see here

Key dates: 

August 19: Awards’ launch

Early-bird entry deadline: September 6, 2024

Main entry deadline: September 19, 2024 

Entries’ evaluated by judges: October 2 to November 6, 2024 

Winners’ announced: November 2024 

Awards’ ceremony: February 2025, date TBD  


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Platinum Equity buys controlling stake in Inventia Healthcare’s OSD arm | FinanceAsia

From Invascent’s India Life Sciences Fund III, New York Life Investment Management Jacob Ballas India Fund III, and affiliates of the company’s founding Shah family, US private equity firm Platinum Equity has acquired a controlling stake in the core Oral Solid Dosage ( OSD ) business.

A majority stake in Inventia is still owned by the Shah home. Invengene and Nutriventia, the injectables and nutraceuticals companies, respectively, are certainly part of the transaction and are being retained differently by the Shah home, according to an August 30 press release. &nbsp,

The acquisition’s financial details and the stake’s length were not made public.

Inventia, which has its headquarters in Mumbai, was cofounded in 1985 by the late president and managing director Janak Shah and Maya Shah, both of whom are now senior directors. For both ordinary and value-added pharmaceuticals, Inventia has around 100 customers who supply both semi-finished and finished OSD formulas. Inventia’s colleagues include global and local medicine companies that sell in more than 40 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.

In Maharashtra, India, Inventia runs a manufacturing facility in Ambernath and a research and development center in Thane. The company’s manufacturing platform is accredited by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA ) and other&nbsp, regulatory authorities.

” This investment represents a significant milestone in the evolution of Inventia. We are thrilled to discover Platinum Equity’s expense in our main OSD company, said Maya Shah and the later Janak Shah in a joint statement due to Janak Shah’s new departure.

They added:” This relationship will funnel Inventia’s advantages and Platinum’s operational knowledge to force us to new levels. We are firmly committed to our vision, and we are assured that this partnership will encourage further development and innovation. Our vision for Inventia has always been to deliver high-quality, available medical items, and with Platinum Equity, we believe this vision will only increase stronger”.

The Asia funding team at Platinum Equity, based in Singapore, is tasked with leading the acquisition.

In a statement, Platinum Equity managing director Amit Sobti stated,” We believe Inventia is a solid platform for development in a fragmented industry, and our goal is to create a larger, more developed B2B firm focused on the beautiful but underprivileged emerging industry.” &nbsp,

By bringing in our operational and financial resources to further institutionalize the organization and set it up for success on a substantially greater range, Sobti continued,” We are excited to develop upon the strong base set by the Shah home.” Inventia’s existing product pipeline you generate strong healthy growth over the near future, which we will look to enhance through acquisitions, with an emphasis on broadening the company’s product portfolio and capabilities”.

Kotzubei stated that Platinum Equity will continue to look for platform deals in India that are appropriate for the company’s investment strategy in addition to looking for Inventia add-ons.

There are more opportunities available today that fit our approach, he explained, and the buyout market in India is continuing to evolve. ” There are more mature businesses with a greater need for operational support, including founders or family-owned businesses looking for a partner who can provide both operational expertise and capital. We have a lot of experience in those situations”.

Platinum Equity’s exclusive financial advisor on the transaction was Barclays. Trilegal and Lacham Watkins acted as India legal counsel for Platinum Equity while Austin Watkins was their international attorney. Kirkland &amp, Ellis provided financing counsel to Platinum Equity on the transaction.

Rothschild &amp, Co and Stifel Nicolaus India ( formerly Torreya Partners ) served as financial advisers to the sellers. Quillon Partners provided legal counsel to the sellers during the transaction.

FinanceAsia has reached out for more information.

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Platinum Equity buys controlling stake in Inventia Healthcare | FinanceAsia

Invascent’s India Life Sciences Fund III, New York Life Investment Management Jacob Ballas India Fund III, and affiliates of the company’s founding Shah family have all acquired controlling stakes in Inventia Healthcare’s core Oral Solid Dosage ( OSD ) business from private equity firms Invascent’s India Life Sciences Fund III, New York Life Investment Management Jacob Ballas India Fund III, and other companies.

A majority stake in Inventia is still owned by the Shah home. Invengene and Nutriventia, the injectables and nutraceuticals companies, respectively, are certainly part of the transaction and are being retained differently by the Shah home, according to an August 30 press release. &nbsp,

The size of the play or the financial terms of the merger were not made public.

Inventia, which has its headquarters in Mumbai, was co-founded in 1985 by the late president and managing director Janak Shah and Maya Shah, both of whom are now senior directors. For both ordinary and value-added pharmaceuticals, Inventia has around 100 customers who supply both semi-finished and finished OSD formulas. Inventia’s companions include global and local medicine companies that sell in more than 40 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.

In Maharashtra, India, Inventia runs a production facility in Ambernath and a research and development center in Thane. The company’s manufacturing platform is accredited by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA ) and other&nbsp, regulatory authorities.

” This investment represents a significant milestone in the evolution of Inventia. In a combined statement released just before Janak Shah’s moving, Maya Shah and the late Janak Shah, both as business owners and long-standing administrators, we are thrilled to discover Platinum Equity investing in our main OSD business.

They added:” This relationship will funnel Inventia’s advantages and Platinum’s operational knowledge to force us to new levels. We are firmly committed to our mission, and we are assured that this partnership will encourage more development and innovation. Our vision for Inventia has always been to deliver high-quality, available medical items, and with Platinum Equity, we believe this vision will only increase stronger”.

The Singapore-based Asia funding team at Platinum Equity is in charge of the acquisition.

In a statement, Platinum Equity managing director Amit Sobti stated,” We believe Inventia is a solid platform for development in a fragmented industry, and our goal is to create a larger, more developed B2B firm focused on the beautiful but underprivileged emerging industry.” &nbsp,

By utilizing our operational and financial resources to further institutionalize the company and prepare it for success on a substantially larger scale, Sobti continued,” We are excited to develop upon the strong base set by the Shah home.” Inventia’s existing product pipeline you generate strong healthy growth over the near future, which we will look to enhance through acquisitions, with an emphasis on broadening the company’s product portfolio and capabilities”.

Kotzubei stated that Platinum Equity will continue to look for program offers in India that are appropriate for the company’s investment strategy in addition to looking for Inventia add-ons.

There are more possibilities available now that fit our approach, he explained, and the buyout market in India is continuing to develop. ” There are more mature businesses that require more operating support, such as founder- or family-owned businesses that are looking for a partner with the ability to provide both operating expertise and capital. We have a lot of knowledge in those conditions”.

Silver Equity acted as Barclays ‘ special financial advisor during the transaction. Along with Trilegal as India’s constitutional representative for Platinum Equity, Lacham Watkins served as Trilegal’s global legal counsel. Kirkland &amp, Ellis provided financing guidance to Platinum Equity on the exchange.

Rothschild &amp, Co and Stifel Nicolaus India ( formerly Torreya Partners ) served as financial advisers to the sellers. Quillon Partners provided constitutional lawyers to the buyers during the transaction.

FinanceAsia has reached out for more details.

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Hines acquires second industrial property in Singapore through JV | FinanceAsia

US-headquartered real estate investment manager and developer, Hines, has announced its acquisition of a logistics asset in Singapore, through a joint venture (JV) with Mitsubishi Estate and MBK Real Estate Asia (MREA).

The property is located at 15 Senoko Loop in northern Singapore near the Johor-Singapore Causeway on the border with Malaysia. 

A July 2 press release stated that the property (pictured) sits on a 24,464-square-metre site with a four-storey facility that has around 41,482 square metres of total gross floor area.

Kim Fong Lim, country head of Singapore at Hines, told FinanceAsia: “Singapore’s industrial sector does present favourable dynamics. The sector has seen rent and capital value growth due to supply constraints, making it an attractive investment opportunity.”

“Importantly, this deal represents Hines’ first joint venture with Japanese institutional partners in Singapore whom we look to scale our business within the market,” he added.

Other promising sectors the Hines team is exploring in Singapore include office, retail and living although industrial continues to be the key focus.

Lim said the team is also looking at ground up development opportunities.

CBRE disclosure shows that the property was on sale at an indicative price of S$100 million ($73.6 million) last October. Final size of the deal remains confidential.

LSEG data recorded 31 industrials mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions that targetted the Singapore market in the first half of 2024, with a total value of $175.3 million. Real estate was recorded separately in the dataset, standing at $126.85 million with 11 deals in the first half.

Both sectors witnessed a year-on-year decrease of almost 90% compared with the first half of 2023.

This marks Hines’ second industrial deal in the Singapore market,after its acquisition of Bukit Batok Connection in 2022. The press release underlined that limited quality spaces and a supply crunch have driven up rent prices and capital value growth for Singapore’s industrial and logistics sector in Q1 2024, making it one of the “most popular” among Asia Pacific (Apac) investors.

“With the growing strength of our industrial portfolio in Singapore, together with the sector’s demand and supply dynamics, we’re optimistic and eager to capture more opportunities in the market,” Lim commented in the press release.

Koji Segawa, managing director of Mitsubishi Estate Asia said the team believes Singapore’s logistics and industrial sector will continue to be “robust”; while Koji Nishikiori, director and chief executive officer (CEO) at MREA pointed to both the acquired property’s “prime location” and the sector’s “strong performance”.

The transaction was completed late June on a sale and leaseback basis, where the building is leased back to the seller, British American Tobacco, as the anchor tenant. Hines, Mitsubishi Estate and MREA become the joint lessors.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Singapore Branch acted as the financing partner for Hines.

Hines opened its Singapore office in 2020, managing assets for its regional clients through funds and programmatic ventures.

MREA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui and Co., founded in 2017 targeting real estate business in Southeast Asia. Mitsubishi Estate is one of the largest real estate developers in Japan, whose track record in Singapore includes co-development of office building CapitaSpring with CapitaLand.


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