Karbonn seeks PE suitors for 15% stake
India's Karbonn Mobiles is looking to sell a 15% stake to private equity buyers for INR6 billion ($135.2 million) to fund expansion plans and consolidate its position as the country's top domestic handset maker, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In January, Karbonn reportedly sought $50 million from American PE firms Accel Partners and Mount Kellet Capital, used to bolster production. That push enabled the company to surpass MicroMax in June as the leading domestic mobile phone maker in India. But it still trails overseas mobile firms Nokia, Samsung and G-Five in domestic sales, accounting for 3.7% of the 167 million handsets sold in India last year.
Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn's parent United Telelinks, said the company hopes to set up a handset manufacturing plant in south India this year. Karbonn currently imports its customized handsets from markets such as China and South Korea. Domestic production would help drive down its costs.
Karbonn is a joint venture between domestic telcos Jaina Group and United TeleLinks.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.