Dlj Closes Shop In India

Leading integrated investment and merchant bankers DLJ have closed shop in India and moved most of their operations to Hong Kong. DLJ had made very few investments in India, including one related to auto components. Sources close to New York-based DLJ (Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette) told Business Standard that the merchant bank has decided to shift its key operations to Hong Kong as part of a consolidation move. Efforts by Business Standard to contact DLJ's New York office to find the reasons for the move made no headway. DLJ's operations in India were based in Bangalore. Sources also said most of the employees based in Bangalore have either shifted to Hong Kong or left the organisation. DLJ had launched an equity fund, the $3-billion DLJ Merchant Banking Partners II, L P, in 1996. Since then, DLJ has invested over $2.7 billion in 43 companies, including investments in the manufacturing, services, health care, telecommunications, energy, retail, printing and publishing industries. Starting off as a research boutique to a fully integrated investment and merchant bank, DLJ was one of the pioneers in putting together research reports for professional institutional investors to help them make investment decisions. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette is a leading integrated investment and merchant bank serving institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. DLJ's businesses include securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment and merchant banking, financial advisory services, investment lContinued on Page 10 research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage services, interactive brokerage services and asset management. DLJ employs approximately 8,150 people worldwide and maintains offices in 14 cities in the United States and 11 cities in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its flagship, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners Funds, now in its third generation, has a flexible investment mandate which allows pursuit of equity and mezzanine investment opportunities across all industries and geographic regions. It has invested in transactions ranging from build-ups to traditional leveraged transactions to growth capital for public and private businesses in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Over the past 15 years, merchant banking has become a core business for DLJ. Collectively, DLJ and its affiliates now have approximately $15 billion of capital under management that is available for, or committed to, private investments in all layers of an enterprise's capital structure for such situations as leveraged acquisitions, build-ups and turnarounds. DLJ's Global Retail Partners, a $150-million fund focused on global retailing and ecommerce opportunities, has so far committed $30 million in 10 transactions. One of its largest transactions was an investment in CitySearch Inc. an internet community guide (www.citysearch.com). Another company in which it invested was P F Chang's China Bistro Incorporated, the largest upscale Chinese-food restaurant chain in the United States.