Motilal Oswal Private Equity is close to selling its 20 per cent stake in Mrs Bector’s Foods Specialties Ltd to Singapore-based private equity fund CX Partners. The deal is expected to be closed later this month for Rs. 300-350 crore. Mrs Bector’s Foods makes Cremica brand biscuits and condiments.
Motilal Oswal had bought the stake in the Ludhiana-based company in 2010 from Goldman Sachs for Rs. 70 crore. According to sources close to the development, Motilal is expected to value the deal at four-five times the original investment. Motilal Oswal declined to confirm the details while CX Partners did not respond to email queries.
This is part of Motilal’s PE fund’s plans to wind down its $125-million India Business Excellence Fund – I by December 2016. Accordingly, it has been exiting its investments gradually, with at least one exit every quarter. It partly exited its investment in Hyderabad-based Power Mech Projects Ltd through an IPO in August, selling over 21 lakh shares.
Motilal had invested at an average price of Rs. 159.82 a share while the company’s share issue price was Rs. 640. Parag Milk Foods, another of its investments, has filed draft offer documents with the capital market regulator SEBI. The fund holds about 9 per cent in Parag, which it bought for Rs. 55 crore in 2008.
The fund has also invested in Jaipur-based Au Financiers, a non-banking finance company which gives commercial vehicle loans. Au Financiers received a small finance bank licence from the RBI earlier this year. The PE fund bought 35 per cent stake in the company in 2010 for Rs. 20 crore. The stake will be sold by the end of next year, a person close to the development said. Au Financiers is currently valued at about Rs. 5,000 crore and the Motilal fund still holds six 6 per cent in it.
Motilal Oswal is on the lookout to deploy another $155 million of its India Business Excellence Fund – II in high-growth companies. In October, it invested Rs. 90 crore in mattress-maker Kurlon.
Image Courtesy: thehindubusinessline
