iGATE divests its professional services biz

IT and BPO services provider iGATE Corporation has decided to divest its Professional Services business. The divestiture will occur through a sale of the business or through a tax-free spin-off of the business to iGATE shareholders.

Commenting on the divestiture, Sunil Wadhwani and Ashok Trivedi, co-founders of iGATE, said: "This separation is a logical next step for the company. Our board has reviewed the divestiture and believes it will benefit our shareholders, employees and customers."They pointed out that the Global Solutions and Professional Services businesses operate in different markets with varied business models.

"The divestiture will better position each business to benefit from their growth opportunities. In addition, the shareholders of iGATE will benefit from the increased clarity of being a focused offshore services company. The demand for offshore IT and BPO services continues to grow at a rapid rate," they added.

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the company's historical and future financial results will now reflect the Professional Services business as discontinued operations, effective beginning as of January 1, 2008.iGATE has retained Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC to assist with the divestiture.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

ASK calls off JV with Raymond James

The ASK-Raymond James JV is no more. Brothers Asit and Sameer Koticha-owned ASK Investment & Financial Consultants has bought out the 50% strategic stake from Raymond James Financial, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Raymond James will not have any presence in India post-deal. The Kotichas have kept their options open on having financial partner or strategic investor in the future.

Subsequent to the buyback, the 50% shares will remain with the two brothers-Asit and Sameer. In the new holding pattern, the two brothers will hold 75% shares and another 25% will stay with Bharat Shah, who will be heading the ASK Investment Managers Private Limited. The ASK Group also plans to enter mutual fund, real estate and NBFC businesses.

Read the Business Standard article.

SAIL and Jaiprakash Associates in cement production JV

The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has entered into a 26:74 joint venture with Jaiprakash Associates for producing 2,2 mn tonnes of cement. The venture will spend Rs. 600 crores to set up the new plant. SAIL will hold 26% stake in the venture while the balance will be held by Jaiprakash. The clinker and partial grinding unit of the plant would be located in Satna in Madhya Pradesh and slag cement would be made in Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. The project is expected to be completed in 37 months.

Two unique things about the project are that, firstly, this is the first of its kind public-private partnership in the cement sector. Secondly, SAIL’s foray into cement production is important as cement prices have shot up in wake of demand overshooting supplies. The country’s current cement production capacity is 165 mn tonnes. About 30 mn tonnes of new capacity is expected to be added in a couple of years. SAIL currently sells slag to cement companies through medium-term contracts but the exercise is not enough for a total disposal of its stocks. The JV would enable the company for more productive use of the waste generated by it while producing steel.

The JV would use slag generated from SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant as basic feed for cement production, and has already signed a 30-year agreement with the Bhilai Steel Plant for supply of slag. SAIL is also looking at using its slag generated from Bokaro Steel Plant for conversion to cement.

Read The Economic Times article.

Credit Suisse forms JV with GE for emerging markets infra fund

Zurich-based universal bank Credit Suisse has entered into a joint venture with General Electric (GE) for an infrastructure fund. The fund will invest in emerging markets with a substantial portion devoted for investments in the Indian infrastructure sector. The size of the fund is estimated to be around a $ bn-plus. The fund-raising is currently going on. The announcement of the fund comes in the wake of the resumption of Credit Suisse’s institutional broking business in India, after a gap of six years. Credit Suisse was suspended from trading in India for two years from April 2001 to April 2003 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for alleged price manipulation.

The bank has roped in the services of V Anantharaman as head of investment banking in India. Mr. Anantharaman was earlier the head of corporate advisory services at Standard Chartered Bank.

Read the Business Standard article.