NTPC to purchase NHPC
Mumbai: The National Thermal Power Corporation is acquiring the government’s entire stake in the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation for Rs 4,500 crore in what is described as the largest corporate acquisition in India. NHPC is a 100 per cent government-owned company.

Announcing this acquisition, union power minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam said NTPC will create a subsidiary and transfer to it some of its existing power plants. There will be a strategic partner in the subsidiary who will be offered 51 per cent stake. Funds from the stake sale will be used to purchase the NHPC. The minister said the deal is expected to help in capitalising and increasing the cross holding of the government so that it gets more leverage to take up more hydro projects. "Secondly, NTPC already has announced its intention to enter into hydro sector. By combining the two companies, together, we can make the technology of one company available to the other. Thirdly, this would give better financial leverage to NTPC when it approaches the market," Mr Kumaramangalam added.
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Singhanias, Piaggio end their disputes
New Delhi: The Singhanias are buying the entire stake of Piaggio in the joint venture LML Ltd. With this amicable settlement ends one of the longest ever and bitterly-fought corporate wars in India. The agreement provides for LML to purchase 23.6 per cent of the capital held by Piaggio in the joint venture at a price of Rs 14.06 per share. The Italian company is also to transfer its entire 28 per cent shareholding in Vespa Car Company to LML or its nominees.

Piaggio will pay LML in consideration of termination of all contracts including the non-competition obligations, Rs 23.65 crore and will not claim any refund of the advance share application money of Rs 8.8 crore paid earlier. Piaggio will be free to set up any business in India, including competing businesses, except manufacture of motorised two-wheelers powered with lateral engine till 2007 end. Piaggio is to pay a sum of Rs 13.55 crore as subversion payment in its capacity as co-promoter of Vespa Car Company. LML will be free to export all its vehicles except the four-stroke scooter ET-4, which will be permitted only after 31 December 2007.

The agreement also stipulates that the two parties will withdraw their respective claims against each other currently pending before the International Court of Arbitration, Paris and other legal proceedings in Indian courts. Piaggio will  withdraw nominees from the board of LML and Vespa Car Company.
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Chandra loses ICO bid
Mumbai: Subhash Chandra of Zee Telefilms will not be able to acquire the ailing ICO Global. For, the US bankruptcy court in Wilmington and other courts in Bermuda and Cayman Islands have approved the $150 million financing plan of Craig McCaw of the US-based Teledisc group and Eagle River Investments, an affiliate company of Mr McCaw. Sources said the deal has been finalised and ICO Global now is in Mr McCaw’s fold.

The Zee group, however, contends that all is not over. Sources in the group said Mr Chandra is still in the race.

Teledisc is a privately-held company founded by Mr McCaw, who has reputation as a telecom entrepreneur in the US, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with the other investors being Motorola, Boeing and the Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. It has an equity of $1 billion, and is in the process of setting up a $9 billion system of satellites for data transmission around the world.
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Zee to be an ISP
Mumbai: The Zee group is launching ZeeNext, a new company to provide Internet-based services. The group said it aims to be the largest investor in ISP business with investments exceeding Rs 40 crore planned in next three years. The new company will be 100 per cent-owned by Zee Telefilms and under the purview of Vijay Jindal, chief executive officer of Zee Telefilms.
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CA, Escorts announce JV
New Delhi: Computer Associates of the US and the Escorts group have formed a joint venture, CA-Escosoft, to develop solutions in the telecom and healthcare sectors based on Computer Associates’ well known TNG software.

Computer Associates and the Escorts group will have equal shareholding the venture. It will have a start-up capital of Rs six crore and proposes to develop its first product in 18 months. The joint venture was announced by Charles B. Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Computer Associates.
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Piramals plan another Crossroads
Mumbai: Piramal Holdings, the Piramal group real estate unit, is set to acquire a large plot of land in the prime shopping area of Bandra in Mumbai to build a shopping mall on the lines of its retail venture Crossroads. Ajay Piramal is said to be in talks with the Lupin group to buy the latter’s 50,000 sq.ft. Bandra Talkies in the Linking Road area of Bandra to construct the shopping mall. The property belongs to Lupin promoter Desh Bandhu Gupta’s Landmark Builders.
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Reliance, WorldTel form JV
Ahmedabad: The Reliance group and WorldTel of the UK are setting up a joint venture to create a network of community internet centres in Tamil Nadu and for building and operating a supporting internet service infrastructure in the state. The two companies in a press statement claimed that this will be the first major information technology and telecom project under the new telecom policy of the government. Under the project, the villages and towns of Tamil Nadu will be networked with each other and with the rest of the world through the community internet centres making it the first state in the country to initiate mass application of information technology. The cost of the first phase of the project is likely to be Rs 400 crore. The Tamil Nadu government’s Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu will contribute 26 per cent equity in the project, while the remaining contribution will be shared between Reliance and WorldTel.
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Tata Johnson plant at Chennai
Chennai: Tata Johnson Controls Automotive, a joint venture between Tata Autocomp Systems and Johnson Controls of the US, has commissioned its second automotive seating system manufacturing plant at Maraimalainagar near Chennai. The plant will cater to the needs of Ford India. The joint venture’s first plant is located in Pune to meet the needs of Telco, DaimlerChrysler and Fiat India.
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Pentafour acquires Animasia, unit
Chennai: Pentafour Software and Exports has acquired Animasia International Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company and its subsidiary Kingdom Animasia of the Philippines. The Wulthelam group companies have a performance track record of around 41 Disney television shows. The acquisition is expected to help Pentafour Software in the 2D and 3D areas and generate better architecture for animation. Animasia has a full-fledged animation studio in the Philippines.
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Reliance cuts petrochem prices
Mumbai: Reliance Industries has announced reduction in the prices of polypropylene and polyethylene by an average of seven per cent. The company said petro-chemical prices at the global level are coming down and it is cutting the prices on this account. The polypropylene price has been cut from Rs 49.2 per kg to Rs 45.2 per kg and the polyethylene price from Rs 50.6 per kg to Rs 47.6 per kg.
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Honda launches new City
Mumbai: Honda Siel has launched a new Honda City car. The price of the car has been increased by Rs 16,000 to Rs 17,000. The new cars will replace the existing City models with immediate effect.

Launching four variants of the new model, Honda Siel president and chief executive officer T. Fujisaki said the cost increase has been on account of additional features. Although the company has had to incur around Rs 50,000 per car, it is absorbing a major part of the costs.The additional features include increased length, better suspension, improved air-conditioning and a new look.
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Telco truck sales up
Mumbai: Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company has said there is a sharp increase in the sale of its heavy and medium commercial vehicles in October 1999. It said it has sold 7,000 trucks in October compared to 6,800 in September. The cumulative sales of the heavy and medium commercial vehicles for the periods April was higher at 35,200 units compared to 21,200 units for the corresponding period last year.
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Pfizer plans to unseat Warner-Lambert board
New York: Pfizer is planning to unseat the board of Warner-Lambert in its $75 billion bid to take over the company. The US drug major has filed  papers in a court saying it proposes its own separate Warner-Lambert board with reduced number of directors. Pfizer’s application also seeks to block Warner-Lambert’s proposed $71.2 billion friendly merger with American Home Products and compel Warner-Lambert to consider Pfizer’s offer.
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Gucci takes over Yves Saint Laurent
Milan: Gucci, the Italian luxury goods maker has taken over Yves Saint Laurent of France. Gucci agreed to pay about $1 billion to buy Sanofi Beaute and its YSL brand.
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Sony, Palm Computing in pact
Las Vegas: Sony Corporation has entered into an agreement with Palm Computing, the 3 Com Corporation company that has developed the PalmPilot handheld computer, to license the Palm operating system for a new line of handheld electronics products. Sony will use the software for wireless and consumer electronics devices that will include electronic organisers. Under the agreement,. Palm Computing will use Sony’s Memory Stick technology in the PalmPilot computer line.
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Vodafone plans new move
London: Vodafone AirTouch said it is making a fresh approach in its bid to acquire  Mannesmann. Mannesmann’s board had rejected a $106 billion unsolicited offer, but Vodafone says there is a compelling case for a merger as it will create a world force in the mobile phone market. The company did not spell out its strategy or its proposed plan.
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Air Canada bids for Canadian Air
Montreal: Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, has made a formal offer to buy Canadian Airlines for C$92 million. The airline said it wants to negotiate the withdrawal of American Airlines’ parent AMR Corporation from the ailing air carrier. Air Canada intends to return the money-losing Canadian Airlines to profitability, restructure its debt and come to an agreement with AMR on giving up its 25 per cent voting stake in the company.
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IBM in net venture
New York: International Business Machines is setting up partnerships with leading design and marketing firms to compete more effectively in the corporate web consulting market. IBM said it is establishing a series of web design and development centres in nine cities around the world and has entered into partnerships with several Internet-related companies in this regard.
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New supercomputer from Silicon Graphics
Palo Alto: Silicon Graphics unveiled a new supercomputer based on Intel chips and the Linux operating system instead of its own proprietary technology. The company said the new design makes the machines more powerful than any model in the market. It drives down costs to make them affordable to more consumers.
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