A Gulf-based private equity fund has invested $98 million in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) business of Redington India Ltd for a 36% stake. Redington is a Chennai-based supply chain solution providers in the IT and telecom space. The deal values Redington’s MEA business at$272 million. The investment has been made by Investcorp Gulf Opportunity Fund.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc has invested $9 billion in Morgan Stanley, giving it a 21% ownership stake in bank holding company. The deal has been struck at a share price of $25.25 per share, as against Morgan Stanley current trading price of around $10 per share.

This is an increasing sign of Europe’s bail out becoming a buy out. The U.K. government has unveiled plans to inject up to £37 billion ($63 billion)  into Royal Bank Of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) and the soon to be combined HBOS PLC and Lloyds TSB Group LLC, reports Wall Street Journal. 

Private equity firm ic2 Capital plans to raise $250 million in two tranches to invest in unlisted Indian firms in the hospitality, logistics, food and media sectors, senior officials said on Monday over telephone.
It would raise around $100 million by December and another $150 million by June, Chairman Sukhbinder Heer said.

• Tamal Bandyopadhyay in Mint
• Ila Patnaik on the front page of Indian Express

There is a slowdown on the fund raising front. Of about 84 funds from India which are out in the market to raise capital, only about 16 of them have been able to raise a total of $4.56 billion in 2008 till date.

Vancouver, Canada-based Live Current Media has launched a fantasy cricket game on its Cricket.com site aimed at cashing in on what it says (via release) is a potential

TVS Shriram Growth Fund has joined Helion Venture Partners to invest a combined sum of $7.5 million in media start-up 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd. This will be TVS Shriram Growth’s first investment from its Rs 600 crore fund. Earlier VC Circle had reported that 9.9 Mediaworx had raised Rs 33.97 crore from Helion Venture Partners and a clutch of NRIs, diluting a 49.25% stake.

Equitymaster submits: Markets continued their northward journey on account of persistent buying in the index heavyweights. While stocks from the banking, consumer durables and consumer goods sectors are garnering investors’ interest, stocks from the FMCG and pharma sectors are at the receiving end.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed to make an investment  upto $75 million in United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL). UPL, also listed on the NSE and BSE is involved in production of crop protection products, intermediates, specialty chemicals and other industrial chemicals.