Mezzanine Private Equity Plays - Infomedia

One of the first buyouts of India, Infomedia was bought from the Tatas. It is India's largest provider of commercial information in the form of business directories branded as Infomedia Yellow Pages (earlier called Tata Press Yellow Pages). Currently, the company's diverse business areas include Business Directories, Magazine Publishing, Direct Marketing, Printing services, and Publishing Outsourcing. Infomedia is the market leader in Yellow Pages and Special Interest Publishing, and is one of the most respected contract printers in India. With offices in 18 cities and a 1500 strong team, it now has a national footprint and a strong all-India network for ad sales and distribution. The buy-out was made through an SPV formed by IAF Series I (fund managed by ICICI Venture) and was leveraged. The mezzanine fund has stepped in at the second phase and refinanced part of the buy out leverage in the SPV by subscribing to its Subordinated Optionally Convertible Debentures (SOCDs). The claims of the SOCDs are subordinated to the claims of the senior investor who has invested in secured Non Convertible Debentures. The SOCDs will bear quarerly interest coupons and will provide a high fixed yield through redemption premium. The tenure of the SOCDs is 2 years; however they can be repaid after six months. The entire indebtedness of the company has asset cover to the tune of 4 times, with the senior lender being covered at more than 6 times. There is adequate liquidity to service the interest payment to the debenture holders, further, I-Ven is stipulated to hold cash equivalent of one year of interest to be paid to the debenture holders.

Mridang 2010 @ IIM Indore

The Festival details are as follows -

Sŭtra - A Long Series of Questions [7 Quizzes in all]
Two Open Quizzes. 5 Inter College Quizzes. Series of Online Quizzes. Tons of Informals.Team Size: 3 or lessCross-college teams allowedRegistration Fee: Bring a pen
Open Fire - The General Open QuizQuizmaster - Arul Mani Team Size: 3 or less. Open to all irrespective of age or affiliation Sunday 17th Jan 2010 Prizes: Rs. 18,000/-
Tech-No-Prisoners – The Science and Technology Open Quiz Tech-No-Prisoners is open to all irrespective of age or affiliation. Team Size: 3 or less Prizes: Rs. 5,000/-

MELA-ge à trois – The Movies, Entertainment, Literature and Arts Quiz Quizmaster: Satyajit Chetri Saturday 16th Jan 2010Prizes: Rs. 18,000/-

Akela – The Lone Wolf Quiz Team Size: 1 Prizes: Rs. 4000/-

Sawaal Street - The Business Quiz Team Size: 3 or less Prizes: Rs. 5,000/-

Khel Raiser – The Sports QuizTeam Size: 3 or less Prizes: Rs. 5,000/-
Bharat Ek Khoj - The India Quiz Team Size: 3 or less Prizes: Rs. 5,000/-

More details at http://www.iimi-mridang.com

Best of Luck

Deals in M&A

Target - Ind-Barath Power Infra - 18% acquired by Citi, Sequoia Capital for 471 Cr
Target - UBS India Service Centre - 100% acquired by Cognizant Tech Soln for 340 Cr
Target - Godrej Properties - Milestone Real Estate Fund - for 110 Cr

Valuations

Infosys buys BPO McCamish

McCamish, an Insurance focused BPO with 39 clients had an revenue of $38 million.

Infosys paid $38 million in cash for the deal, valuing the BPO business at 1 time the revenues
There is also an earn out component which will depend on McCamish performance for next two years

Q1)
“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into _________ _____.”

A1) Unaccustomed Earth ( Jhumpa Lahiri's recent book)

Banking Quizes

Q1)
This bank was started in 1815, with the purpose of providing for widows, sisters and other female relatives of fund holders so that they would not be plunged into poverty on the death of the fund holder during and after Napoleonic wars.
Today its a part of Lloyds Banking Group.

A1) Scottish Widows

Ask Three Questions to Clarify Expectations

Leave it to a comedian to invert perceptions of the leader-follower dynamic.
Jon Stewart recently asked chief White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee "Is [the President] going to impeach us?" After all, Stewart mused, might the unpopularity of the President's health care reform be due to people's failure to follow rather than the President's ability to lead? While Stewart, as host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, was being funny, there is truth in his comments about the leader-follower relationship; both sides have roles to play.
Leaders must work hard to explain their initiatives and create conditions for people to succeed when they implement them. But equally so, followers need to work to fulfill their responsibilities to the organization that pays them. While the majority of employees do pull their weight, we all have seen examples of employees simply clocking time.
While such behavior is never acceptable, it is even less acceptable when times are trying, as they are now. So leaders need to exert their management skills to engage employees and set clear expectations. Here are three questions managers can ask to ensure that employees follow through on their responsibilities.
1. Do people know what is expected of them? Too often we assume people know their jobs. People may know the specifics, but often lack knowledge about how what they do helps the entire organization. For example, if an employee works in accounting, she needs to know how vital her job is to the efficacy of the company. Her attentiveness, as well as that of her colleagues, is essential to the company's ability to profit. People need to be told, and reminded, of the importance of their work.
2. Do employees know what they can expect from you? It is important to let employees know that you as their manager are available to them. How you define "available" may vary from employee to employee. For new hires, you might be more teacher than boss. For veterans, you will play the coaching role. For the team, you will be the supplier of resources as well as their champion.
3. Do employees know what is expected of each other? While managers need to make certain employees are doing what is asked of them, employees must also do their part to coordinate with each other. Whether a self-managed team makes its own assignments or a manager makes the assignments, what matters most is that employees know who does what so work can be completed in a timely and responsible fashion.
Pushing for employee responsibility is not an excuse for roughshod management. If managers expect their employees to be accountable, then they must set the right example. These leaders need to handle tough issues, volunteer for tough assignments, and go the extra mile to help the organization succeed.