MUMBAI (Reuters) – In 2007, Indian firms made $22.6 billion of overseas buys, not far behind China’s haul. Outbound M&A last year was just $1.3 billion, while China spent $42.7 billion.

Now, India Inc is back on the overseas acquisition trail, but moving with caution.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, Jan 21 (Reuters) – India’s Oil & Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC) <ONGC.BO> posted its second straight rise in
quarterly profit on higher oil prices, but uncertainty
surrounding subsidy payments may keep investors shy of the
state-run explorer.

The group is required to partially subsidise the sale of
fuel to state retailers, which sell petrol and diesel at
government-set prices below the market rate, affecting its
earnings.

MUMBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Tata Consultancy Services
<TCS.BO> glided past street estimates with a 33 percent rise in
quarterly profit as demand for outsourcing surged and prices
stabilised, fuelling hopes of recovery in the showpiece sector.

India’s top software services exporter is seeing increased
demand for services from all its business segments and the
company has a healthy deal pipeline, Chief Executive N.
Chandrasekaran told reporters on Friday.

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Indian energy major Reliance
Industries Ltd <RELI.BO> raised $763 million on Monday, its
third big equity fund raising in under four months, as it
readies to buy bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell.

Reliance, controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani,
sold 33 million existing treasury shares at about 5 percent
discount to a clutch of foreign institutional investors, the
arranger to the deal said.

NEW YORK/MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s Reliance Industries Ltd has sweetened its offer to buy a controlling stake in LyondellBasell Industries that

values the bankrupt chemicals firm at $13.5 billion, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

NEW YORK/MUMBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) – India’s Reliance
Industries Ltd <RELI.BO> has sweetened its offer to buy a
controlling stake in LyondellBasell Industries [ACCEIN.UL]
that
values the bankrupt chemicals firm at $13.5 billion, a source
familiar with the situation told Reuters.

But Lyondell’s board has rejected Reliance’s sweetened
offer, said the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the
raised offer. Reliance now probably has until sometime in
February to make another offer, the paper said, citing people
familiar with the matter.

MUMBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Reliance Industries raised $577
million through a share sale, the second big equity fund
raising in under four months for India’s largest listed company
as it looks to buy bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell.

Reliance <RELI.BO>, controlled by India’s richest man,
Mukesh Ambani, sold 25 million existing treasury shares at a 5
percent discount to Thursday’s market close to state-run Life
Insurance Corp of India, two sources with knowledge of the
transaction said.

MUMBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Jindal Steel & Power <JNSP.BO>,
headed by India’s richest woman, plans a $2.1 billion IPO of
its power unit, and analysts said while the sector was in
demand pricing still had to leave something on the table for
investors.

The offering by Jindal Power would be India’s
second-largest IPO, trailing only Reliance Power’s <RPOL.BO>
offering to raise $3 billion in early 2008, and follows a slew
of utilities that have in recent months tapped the stock
market.

MUMBAI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Indian power firm JSW Energy’s
initial public offering to raise up to $583 million was fully
subscribed within half an hour of opening on Monday,
underscoring appetite for new share issues in India.

By 11:35 a.m. (0605 GMT), the offering, priced at 100-115
rupees a share, was covered 1.2 times, data from the National
Stock Exchange Of India showed. The offer closes on Wednesday.

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Tata Motors <TAMO.BO>, India’s biggest vehicle maker, reported a return to operating profit for its British Jaguar Land Rover unit on Friday, as cost cuts begin to bear fruit and new models attract buyers.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has weighed on the firm’s results since its takeover last year, fanning fears the Tata group, the Indian business empire that controls Tata Motors, had overstretched itself just as the global financial crisis hit.