Flag Tele listing on LSE soon

Flag Telecom, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Communication (RComm), has mandated Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank as lead managers for the maiden initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.ADAG is expecting to recover ten times the value paid for buying the company in 2002.

Flag, which runs an international fibre bandwidth all across the globe, has announced an investment of Rs 7,000 crore to set up a new generation network which will provide high speed transmission. The cash from the IPO will be used to partly finance the ambitious project which is expected to be up and running by 2009. The new network will link to the Mediterranean to Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta, Libya and Lebanon, Trans-Pacific to the US and Japan, Far East and Africa.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Corporate bonds to trade on bourses from July 1

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will ask the two stock exchanges to start trading in corporate bonds shortly, sources close to the developments said.The much-awaited trading in corporate bonds will start on the National and the Bombay Stock Exchanges from July 1. This is expected to energise the moribund debt market.

To begin with, trading would be through order matching as recommended by the R H Patil Committee. The committee had suggested various measures to activate the corporate bond market. The anonymous order matching would come into place only at a later stage, when the exchanges were ready, the sources added.

Banks and institutions will be allowed to trade through either the stock exchanges or via the OTC (over-the -counter). If they wanted to go through the stock exchanges, they could conduct the trading through the stock broking members, the sources added.

All transactions in corporate bonds of the value of Rs 1 lakh or above are required to be reported to the corporate bond platform. As the platform is purely for reporting purposes, the stock exchanges had no role or liability for settlement of these trades. The intermediaries and contracting parties were asked to settle the trades bilaterally.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Patel Eng, Gammon JV bags Rs 806 cr order

Civil infrastructure construction firm Patel Engineering today announced that its joint venture with Gammon has bagged a Rs 806 crore order for a 434 MW hydro electric project in Himachal Pradesh.

The project has been awarded by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, a joint venture between the central government and the Himachal Pradesh government. It will be located on the river Satluj in Shimla and Kullu Districts of Himachal Pradesh. The project involves the construction of a 15-km-long head race tunnel (HRT), a 140-m deep surge shaft and power house on the right bank of river Satluj in Kullu district. The project will be completed in the next 54 months.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

JM Financial may buy brokerage after Morgan Stanley split

JM Financial Ltd, Morgan Stanley’s former partner in India, may buy a local brokerage to rebuild the equity sales and research teams it sold to the New York investment bank, director Vishal Kampani said.

Kampani last month helped his father Nimesh negotiate the breakup with Morgan Stanley, the world’s second-biggest securities firm. The US bank acquired the equity sales, trading and research teams from the venture for $425 million (Rs1,835 crore).

JM retained the retail, investment banking and fixed-income units that generated 45% of revenue and a client list including Reliance Industries Ltd and three-quarters of India’s top 100 companies. By going alone, JM may struggle to meet its biggest clients’ appetite for funds and financial services as Indian companies embark on record stock sales and acquisitions.

Read more in The Live Mint article.

IOC plans to buy Turkish petrochem co

Flagship refiner-marketer IndianOil Corporation is putting in the pipeline India's presence in a crucial energy corridor between Central and North Asia and the consumption centres in the West. The state-owned entity has submitted an expression of interest for acquiring the Turkish government-run chemicals maker Petkim Petrokimya and back it up with a $6 billion refinery on the Mediterranean coast.

"The Turkish government is disinvesting 53-54% in Petkim. We have put in an EoI (expression of interest). Bids will close on June 15. I would like to believe IndianOil will bid jointly with the Calik group with whom we have a strategic partnership," said B M Bansal, the man incharge of finding new businesses for IndianOil.

Read more in The Times of India article.

Sitel buys 50% in India JV from Tatas for $22.2 mn

World's second largest BPO company Sitel Corp has bought back its 50% stake in Sitel-India - a JV it had with the Tata Group for $22.2 million.

India's largest IT company Tata Consultancy Services owned 40% stake in Sitel-India which it has sold to Sitel Corp for $17.73 million. Another 10% stake worth $4.5 million has been bought by Sitel Corp from Tata International.

Sitel India was a joint venture between the Tata Group and Sitel Corp, formed in 2000, with both parties holding 50% of the equity. Sitel India CEO Safir Adeni told ET: "The buyback shows that Sitel Global is very bulish on India. We grew at faster than the BPO industry last year and plan to grow faster with this buyback. We will double our employee headcount to 8,000 in India by 2008."

Read more in The Economic Times article

CMC likely to merge with TCS

The Tata group's stated ambition of making a global powerhouse out of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to get another shot in the arm. CMC, the IT company that the Tatas got control of when the government kicked off a divestment drive six years ago, is ready to be merged with TCS.

This move is in line with the group's policy of merging smaller group companies in the same line of business with the flagship.

Over the last couple of years, group companies like Airlines Financial Services, Airlines Software Development Consultancy India, Phoenix Global Services and Tata Infotech were merged into TCS. CMC, industry sources say, is next. Subsequent to this, sources add, the group will have to consider merging Tata Elxsi into TCS.

Read more in The Times of India article

BSE turnover crosses $200b mark

Stock markets may have gone through a number of bouts of sharp selling over the past year, but it has not deterred investors from thronging the Dalal Street, which is set to register a record annual turnover when the current fiscal draws to a close next week.

While the value of total business conducted at the Bombay Stock Exchange has crossed $200 billion milestone, the National Stock Exchange is set to record an annual turnover of well above $400 billion for the first time in its history in FY07.

Read more in The Times of India article.

Bajaj Auto may make cars

International consultancy firm JD Power said early this week the "people's car" from Tatas that will come out on the roads in 2008 could create a major dent in top-end motorcycle sales with its lucrative price tag, provided the corporate house gets the product right in the first shot.

Although Bajaj Auto is the second-largest motorcycle maker in the country after Hero Honda, it has an upper hand in high-end bikes with its runaway success Pulsar.

Bajaj, who was here for the eighth annual convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) here, had recently also reacted sharply to Tata Group chief Ratan Tata's statement that the low-cost was being developed in concern for the safety of those travelling by two-wheelers.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

IFCI to sell 26% stake to strategic investor

IFCI Ltd will divest at least 26% of its stake to a strategic investor through fresh issue of shares. The board of the financial institution has decided to appoint management consultant Ernst & Young to look for the strategic investor, IFCI told BSE.

The move is aimed at bailing out the ailing financial institution. In 2002 and 2003, government tried to merge the institution with Punjab National Bank. But, the move failed as the bank found the deal very costly as IFCIhad huge bad loans on its books. Government also tried to merge the institution with IDBI, which also failed.

Meanwhile, government so far has infused around Rs 4,600 crore in IFCI to revive it. The 2007-08 budget announced Rs 1,300 crore fresh infusion in the institution to meet its restructuring liabilities, including payment for outstanding loan of Rs 880 crore. To raise funds, the IFCI also sold its 7% stake in NSE and 8% stake in the ICRA through offer for sale.

Read more in The Times of India article.

ITC Infotech could go public

ITC Infotech, an IT services company and fully-owned subsidiary of ITC, is planning to go public. Although no date has been finalised as to when the company is planning to hit the capital market, Y C Deveshwar, chairman, ITC said the company may opt for the bourses `at some point of time'.

ITC Infotech is a $64 million company with a headcount of over 4,200 employees. The tier-II firm competes with the likes of the global service providers like HP, IBM and Accenture and also tier-one Indian players for enterprise system integration solutions, infrastructure and testing services projects. Some of its clients include British American Tobacco, Abbey National Bank, Finnair, DHL, PTC and Unilever. Around five per cent of the company’s revenues come from ITC.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Citigroup Venture to buy 19.9% stake in Anand Rathi

Leading private equity investor Citigroup Venture Capital International is picking a 19.9% stake in Anand Rathi Securities (ARS), a Mumbai-based stock brokerage promoted by former BSE president Anand Rathi.

While announcing the deal on Friday, ARS said the funds will be utilised for the expansion purpose and also for meeting working capital requirements. The company, however, did not disclose the size of the deal and the price at which the stake is being acquired by the US-based fund.

In the past few years, many Indian brokerages have raised funds through the PE route, which has mainly gone into expansion of their businesses. Motilal Oswal Securities, India Infoline, Edelweiss Securities, IL&FS Investsmart and Indiabulls Financial Services are among the brokers which roped in foreign investors when the market was bullish.

Read more in The Economic Times 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.

Warburg Pincus appoints former McKinsey executive as MD at Mumbai office

Leo Puri, a former executive at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, has been appointed managing director by Warburg Pincus for its India office. Mr. Puri is a post-graduate in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University, and was a co-leader of the financial services practice in Asia for McKinsey. He will begin at Warburg's New York office in April, and will move to its Mumbai office later. Mr. Puri’s appointment seems to fill in the gap created by ex-MD Pulak Prasad’s exit from Warburg Pincus some time back.

Dabur to buy 60% stake in Singapore-based FMCG company Unza for Rs. 675 crores

Dabur is about to acquire over 60% stake in Singapore-based consumer goods company Unza Holdings for Rs. 600-675 crores. Dabur is expected to buy out the holdings of private equity funds Actis and Standard Chartered who hold 30% each in the $150 mn-Singapore company. The deal is touted to be one of the largest overseas acquisition deals in the FMCG space, and make it the third-largest FMCG company in India behind HLL and ITC with manufacturing facilities in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Unza is a leading personal care manufacturer and marketer in South-east Asia with 48 brands in its portfolio, and is equally owned by the company management and the two private equity funds.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

HCL Technologies may bid for Cambridge Solutions

One of India’s premier IT companies, the $1.1 bn-HCL Technologies may bid for Cambridge Solutions, one of the top BPO outfits of the country, valued at around $350 mn. If the deal sails through, it may be the biggest M&A ever in the Indian IT space.

HCL has signaled early interest to acquire around 42% promoter holding put up for sale. The promoters of Cambridge have mandated Lehman Brothers to scout for potential suitors. The promoters of Cambridge, which includes names like ex-McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta, the US-Canadian Bronfman family of Seagram fame, serial investor Ramesh Vangal and former PepsiCo chairman Chris Sinclair, together hold 59.15% stake. It is learnt that Mr. Vangal, who is the single largest individual investor with around 18% stake, is unlikely to offer his shares.

Almost two-thirds of Cambridge’s revenues comes from high-end BPO operations spread across the US, India and Europe. It has a strong presence in the lucrative insurance processing domain, with around 2000 of its total 4500 employees located in the US. HCL has BPO operations at nine centres in India, two in the UK and one in Malaysia, which provide both voice and non-voice services. The BPO operations constitute around 17% of revenues and employ around 10,000 people.

Read the article in The Economic Times article

Merrill Lynch eyes stake in India Infoline distribution arm

US-based brokerage and investment bank Merrill Lynch has initiated talks with India Infoline for acquiring a significant stake in its distribution subsidiary, India Infoline Distribution Company Limited (IILD). Merrill had recently hiked its stake in India Infoline to 14.10%. It may pick up to 26% in IILD for over Rs. 150 crores. In December 2006, India Infoline sold its stake in the subsidiary Khambhat Investment & Trading Company Private Limited, a non-banking finance company, to Merrill Lynch.

Merrill Lynch plans to enter into the Indian mortgage business, and is accordingly planning a tie-up with India Infoline for the same. The company expects to create synergies with India Infoline as it has a wide retail network of over 200 branches. IILD, apart from the distribution of financial products such as mutual funds, IPOs and fixed deposits, also distributes mortgages and loan products.

Read more in the article in Business Standard.

Ujala maker Jyothy Laboratories plans Rs. 300 crore-IPO

Mumbai-based fast moving consumer goods company Jyothy Laboratories, famous for its Ujala brand of fabric whiteners, is planning to list on the stock exchanges by end of 2007. Jyothy Laboratories will raise Rs. 300 crores in an initial public offering. The company has reportedly appointed Kotak and Enam as advisors to the issue.

Jyothy Labs is a closely held company with about 70% stake being held by founder chairman and managing director M P Ramachandran and his family. The balance 30% is held by private equity firms CLSA and Actis along with a foreign subsidiary of ICICI Bank. The foreign investors are likely to exit the company at the time of the IPO.

Sales of Jyothy Laboratories are pegged at between Rs. 400-500 crores. The company is said to have been valued at around Rs. 1000 crores.

Read more on Moneycontrol.com

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.

Post-Morgan, Kampani revamps business with seven strategic units

Nimesh Kampani, after the separation of his firm JM Financial with JV partner Morgan Stanley, is re-organizing the his operations to exploit future opportunities, with a view of giving the foreign investment banks, who are opening offices in India, a run for their money.

A new management structure is being formalized for the group flagship company JM Financial. Mr. Kampani has carved up the operations of JM Financial into seven strategic business units to be managed by independent managing directors.

The investment banking business is split into corporate finance, M&A and global capital markets. Dipti Neelkantan, 48, who joined JM as a research analyst 25 years ago, has recently risen to the rank of MD & COO of the investment banking business. She is in charge of overall operations. Two MDs have been appointed for the corporate finance division, which is scaling up its operations. Nimesh Kampani’s son Vishal Kampani, 30, and BK Bansal, 53, will be heading this division.

Adi Patel, 38, has been designated as head of the M&A division, while Atul Mehra, 39, has recently been elevated to the post of MD (global capital markets). Adi Patel, Atul Mehra and BK Bansal have been with JM for more than 15 years.

JM Financial is bringing in talent from outside to run the new-age businesses. Last month, Nityanath Ghanekar, 61, joined as CEO and MD of the mutual-fund business from global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. A few months ago, Dilip Kothari joined JM to head its private equity business from Olympus Capital. Rajeev Chitrabanu, 35, is CEO and MD of the financial services business, which includes wealth management and IPO distribution. Subodh Shinkar, 39, is the new COO of the division.

While Vipin Gupta, 35, is the MD of the fast-growing commodity business, Basant
Agarwal, 40, heads the special situations fund. JM Financial is also planning to create independent divisions for the fixed-income and research portfolios.

Merrill eyes stake in India Infoline

US-based Merrill Lynch, which has a strong presence in the institutional broking and merchant banking businesses in India, is set to pick up a controlling stake in India Infoline, a strong player in the retail financial services segment.

As part of the deal, Merrill Lynch, which currently holds about 14% in India Infoline through stocks and convertible shares, will pick up additional stake in the company though issuance of new shares, sources said.

Post the stake buy, the US major would make an open offer to India Infoline shareholders to meet regulatory requirements.

Although sources said India Infoline was close to giving up a substantial stake to Merrill Lynch, Nirmal Jain, CMD, India Infoline, denied any such move.

Real estate IPO statements lack clarity: Damodaran

Ahead of the 32nd annual conference of the IOSCO or International Organisation of Securities Commissions, where regulators across the world participate, debate & discuss key regulatory issues, Sebi Chairman, M Damodaran gives his views on issues like P-notes, real-estate IPOs and stock lending mechanism.

Damodaran comments that there is no reason to disbelieve any FII disclosure on P-Notes and there will be always a tendency to come in via P-Notes.

He adds that there are statements in real-estate IPOs that lacks clarity and they have sought clarity on land bank disclosure for realty IPOs.The SEBI Board has approved stock-lending mechanism and the structures for stock lending and short selling are in place.

Read more in The Moneycontrol article

RIL to divest in oil and gas arm abroad

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will induct a strategic partner in its overseas oil and gas projects which are being spun off into a new entity.

Sources familiar with the development said RIL is to divest 20 to 25 per cent in the Dubai-based Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC, the holding company for RIL’s foreign oil and gas projects.

Global energy major Chevron Corporation, which has equity interest in RIL’s subsidiary Reliance Petroleum, might be the preferred partner for Reliance Exploration, they added. An RIL spokesperson declined to comment.

Read more in The Business Standard article

Suzlon may raise bid for REpower

Suzlon Energy, the fifth-largest wind energy firm in the world with a market share of 6%, is likely to revise its offer to buy out German wind-turbine builder REpower, following the counter offer of e140 per share made by French rival Areva on Thursday.

According to sources, the company is in talks with a consortium of banks led by ABN Amro and may come out with a revised offer of close to e160 per share, which will raise the value of REpower to $1.7 billion. Areva’s revised offer has raised the value of REpower to $1.5 billion. The new offer is at a premium of 33% to its initial offer price of e105 per share.
Suzlon Energy CMD Tulsi Tanti said, “We will respond to Areva’s counter offer after getting complete information.”

Read more in The Economic Times article

List of Sharekhan's suitors gets longer

Sharekhan has got a queue of suitors, first it was JM Financial and then IDFC was believed to be in talks to buy out the brokerage firm. Now the buzz is that American online trading giant E*trade, and Goldman Sachs too have joined the list, with many in the broking industry claiming that E*trade is the frontrunner for the deal.

Interestingly, last year Sharekhan had seen a mass exodus when many of its employees joined IL&FS Investsmart where E*trade is a key investor.Sharekhan is only one of the many deals that the broking industry is looking to clinch.

Read more in The Moneycontrol article

ITC to bid for spice king "Patak’s"

ITC Foods is likely to put in a formal bid for Britain’s popular pickles and Indian curries brand, Patak’s. Heinz, which already has a partnership with Patak’s, could also be interested in the company, said sources.

The £200-million price tag, however, could be a sticking point as it is being seems a tad on the higher side for
potential partners or buyers.

According to information with ET, the tobacco major has been approached by Patak’s investment banker NM Rothschild with a proposal.A decision will be taken once the company has studied the details,” said people close to ITC.

Mother of all deals!!

There’s yet another big global deal brewing and this might turn out to be a real blockbuster. It’s actually a global petrochem powerhouse in the making. Reliance Industries, which has been talking to the $49-billion Dow Chemicals-the world’s second-largest chemicals company-has inched closer to signing an MoU with the US company.

According to sources, talks are at an advanced stage and the two sides are expected to make a formal announcement by this weekend. RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, along with a top-level team, including Nikhil Meswani, Kamal P Nanavaty, Alok Agarwal and Haresh Shah, is scheduled to meet Dow CEO Andrew N Liveris and the rest of the senior team for the final round of negotiations.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Ranbaxy targets $2b US sales from generic brands

Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories is expected to mop up nearly $2 billion in sales by launching generic versions of four block-buster drugs, including atorvastatin (Lipitor) over the next five-six years.

The block-buster molecules including atorvastatin (lipitor), pioglitazone (actos), valacyclovir (valtrex) and tamsulosin (flomax), are expected to be launched in US during 2007-2012, subject to the requisite legal and regulatory approvals.

At present, the company has 20 First-to-File (FTF) products that command a market size of over $26 billion (at innovator brand prices) with nine under litigation. The first-to-file status is granted to the first generic company which files the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) with a Para IV certification. The first-to-file benefit allows 180 days of exclusivity in the US market to the company.

Vodafone, Essar deal today

Nearly a month after UK-based Vodafone clinched a deal for acquiring Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International's controlling stake in HEL, Sarin will tomorrow announce the terms and conditions of the partnership with Ruias-promoted Essar, which holds 33% stake in the JV.

The two firms have also agreed to rename Hutch-Essar as Vodafone-Essar, which would start selling its products and services under the Vodafone brand in due course.

The partnership would be announced at a joint press conference by Sarin and Ravi Ruia, vice chairman, Essar Group, sources close to the development said. However, it was not confirmed whether the deal would be announced in the national capital or Mumbai, where HEL is headquartered.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Havell's buys SLI Sylvania for $300mn

Havell's Netherlands BV, a Netherlands incorporated subsidiary of Havell's India, has signed an agreement with SLI Holdings Inc to acquire its lighting systems business SLI Sylvania for an aggregate price of euro 227.5 million (approx. $300 million).

According to a release issued by Havell's to the BSE today, the acquisition is expected to be financed with non-recourse debt facilities of $160 million and recourse facilities of $105 million.

Read more in Business-Standard article.

Mahindra offers to up stake in PTL by 20%

India's top tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra on Monday made a Rs 4.9 billion ($110 million) open offer for a further 20% in Punjab Tractors and its subsidiaries, as required by law after it won the bidding for a 43.3% stake.

Mahindra, India's top tractor and utility vehicle maker, and subsidiary Mahindra Holdings & Finance Ltd are buying stakes held by private equity firm Actis and India's Burman family in a deal that values Punjab at approximately Rs 22 billion.

Read more in The Times of India article.

EDS to buy RelQ Software for nearly $40mn

Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a $21 billion global software services major, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bangalore-based software testing firm RelQ Software.According to a statement from EDS, over time, RelQ will be fully integrated into EDS' global testing organisation and will accelerate EDS' global testing capabilities. The transaction is expected to close in May 2007.

RelQ Software is a 700-people strong organisation, with revenues at around $22 million last year. According to industry estimates, the company is expecting to close the fiscal with $30 million in revenues. EDS is understood to have paid around $40 million (around Rs 180 crore) to acquire this firm. No confirmation on this was available from EDS as no financial terms of the transaction were disclosed. UBS advised RelQ on the transaction.

Read more in The Business-Standard article.

IPCL merger with RIL from April 1

Reliance Industries (RIL) on Saturday approved the amalgamation of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) with itself, with the share swap ratio pegged at 1:5.

It means shareholders of IPCL will get one RIL share for every five shares they hold. The board of IPCL has also approved the merger with RIL. The merger will be effective from April 1, 2007, an RIL release said.

Read more inThe Times of India article.

Bharti to invest $8b by 2010

Striving to retain the leadership position in the mobile industry, Bharti Airtel will invest a massive $8 billion by 2010 to have a 25% market share.

The aggressive expansion programme assumes importance in the wake of imminent entry of global mobile leader Vodafone through acquisition of Hutch-Essar, an announcement after which Mittal had said that Bharti would continue to be the numero uno player in India.

Read more inThe Times of India article.

Singapore Exchange to buy 5% in BSE

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX), one of the youngest of the bourses in Asia, has agreed to buy a 5% stake in Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the oldest stock exchange in the continent, for $42.7 million (Rs 189 crore).

SGX will pay Rs 5,200 for each share of BSE, the same price that Frankfurt-based Deutsche Borse had agreed to pay for an equal stake less than a month ago.
Read more inThe Times of India article.

Corus shareholders okay Tata Steel takeover

Shareholders of Corus Group have agreed to Tata Steel's $12 billion takeover of the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, sealing the largest foreign acquisition by an Indian company.

Investors representing 97% of the shares backed the purchase today, Corus said following an extraordinary general meeting in London. The acquisition is scheduled to take effect April 2. Corus shares will stop trading on exchanges on March 29.

IPCL set to merge with Reliance Industries

Ending months of speculation, Reliance Industries (RIL) said today that it is considering merging its group firm, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation (IPCL) with itself.

The boards of both the companies will meet on March 10 to consider the plan, RIL said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange after the markets closed for the day

Analysts say Reliance was supplying raw materials to IPCL, which was then making the final products for the end-user industries like rubber. "Post-merger, RIL would offer end-to-end product solutions which would give it a pan-Indian and perhaps Asian dominance," said an analyst.

Analysts also said the merger may help RIL to increase its revenue from chemicals by as much as 4% to 48% of the total. IPCL uses naphtha made at the parent's refinery as feedstock to make chemicals.
Read more inThe Business Standard article.

60 investors make a beeline for BSE

About 60 foreign and domestic institutional investors have queued up to buy equity in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Brokers currently hold 95 per cent of BSE.

It’s a race against time for the BSE, given the fact that the market regulator has decreed that the brokers’ stake in the exchange should be diluted to 40 per cent or lower by mid-May.

Sources close to the developments said the big question now was how much premium the brokers would receive on their shares, compared to the Rs 5,200 per share given by Germany’s Deutsche Boerse.

Read more in The Times of India article.

IBM targets Indian firms for acquisition

After spending close to $5 billion for 13 acquisitions in 2006, IBM plans to keep up its accelerated pace of acquisitions this year and has earmarked Indian IT space as a key target region.The company’s acquisitions in 2006 were in the software space, an area where IBM is bullish about growth prospects in future as well.

The US-based IT giant is believed to have sounded its investment bankers to scout for potential targets in the country, which could include mostly small-to-mid sized software firms, although it is not averse to acquiring large companies at the right price.

Read more in The Business-Standard article.

DLF plans Rs1,000cr spend in life insurance JV

Real estate giant DLF today announced its tie-up with US-based financial player Prudential Financial, Inc (PFI) for a foray in life insurance business and said the two partners will invest about Rs 1,000 crore over the next ten years in the venture.The company is applying for a licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), and hopes to start operations by early 2008.

A DLF spokesperson said both the partners would have representatives on the board, while Prudential would take care of the operations.

Read more in The Business-Standard article.

Indian equity market most expensive after China

Following the 2,000-point (14%) correction in the Sensex, the P/E has fallen 18 times the one-year forward earnings. While that may provide some relief to investors, it has reinforced the fact that the Indian equity market is the most expensive emerging market after China.

After the recent bullishness among its industries, Japan’s benchmark index - Nikkei 225 - is trading at 22 times the one-year forward earnings. Little wonder then that money has been flowing out of these markets.According to EPFR.com data, outflows from India and other emerging markets so far are nearly 50% of their investments into them.

The depth of the Indian market has been questioned by many FIIs. Even though the Indian equity market has seen a correction in line with other emerging markets, the spiralling effect is scary. Part of the reason is because small investors, who are more like speculators, invest directly into the equity market.

Read more inThe Economic Times article.

Indian IT major Cognizant rings NASDAQ bell

Indian IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation rang the NASDAQ opening bell at 9.30 a.m. (8 p.m. IST) Monday simultaneously in Chennai and New York, commemorating "India's emergence as a global leader in the IT and BPO services".

As the Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza pressed a button at its techno-complex in Chennai, India, the bell rang at NASDAQ's MarketSite at Times Square in New York City.

The Opening and Closing Bell events are symbolic ceremonies that represent the open and/or close of the NASDAQ trading day, which brings together investors and market participants from around the world to trade electronically.

RPG to buy out Fujitsu in Zensar, gets majority stake

The RPG group has signed a share purchase agreement to buy out its partner, the Fujitsu group of companies, in its IT services JV, Zensar Technologies

Following this, the RPG group’s stake will double from its existing 29% giving it a majority 58% shareholding in the firm and also making it the single largest shareholder. The Fujitsu group’s 6.9 million shares will be purchased by Jubilee Investment and Industries, which is part of the RPG group.

Read more in The Economic Times article