Warburg Pincus to buy majority stake in Biyani's Future Capital?

Warburg Pincus, a private equity major, has emerged as the frontrunner for majority stake in Kishore-Biyani led Future Capital. According to CNBC-TV 18 sources, the stake sale is in the final stages of negotiation and the deal is likely to be announced by the end of this month.

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The move is likely to ease the debt burden of the Future Group and is likely to trigger an open offer. Various reports said earlier that Bain Capital, Barings Private Equity Partners, Dewan Housing and L&T Finance were also potential suitors for Future Capital. However, without disclosing any details Future Capital said it is in talks with two to three potential investors and that the deal is yet to be finalised.

Last week, Pantaloon Retail announced that Bennett, Coleman & Company will subscribe to Rs 200 crore preferential shares in the company.Future Capital is a subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail, the flagship of the Future Group WHICH owns 53.67 per ent in Future Capital, and group promoter Kishore Biyani personally owns 2.62 percent Sstake.

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While Bain Capital was unavailable for comment, Warburg Pincus told CNBC-TV18 its policy does not allow discussion of deal related investment activities.