M&M, Ashok Leyland left in fray for Punjab Tractors
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra has proposed a mix of cash and equity for acquisition of the controlling 43.5 per cent stake in Punjab Tractors (PTL). The offer works out to Rs340 a share, valuing the company at over Rs 2,100 crore.

Ashok Leyland on the other hand has made an all-cash offer of nearly Rs320 a share. The sellers of the stake- private equity fund Actis and the Burman family - are evaluating both the offers before taking a final decision. The other bidder was Chennai-based Tafe. The three submitted bids on Monday.

The M&M stock today closed 4.47 per cent higher at Rs757.95 in a falling Bombay market.

The stock reached a day's high of Rs775. On the other hand, the Ashok Leyland scrip went down by 0.26 per cent to Rs38.05. The Punjab Tractors stock lost 2.35 per cent to Rs307.
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Singapore Stock Exchange to acquire 5 per cent stake in BSE
Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has said it is selling 5 per cent stake to Singapore Exchange for $42.7 million. It was the first foreign acquisition by Singapore Exchange, Asia's third-largest listed bourse.
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Mindtree gains 56 per cent on debut at Rs662
Mumbai: The shares of the country's first VC-funded firm Mindtree Consulting debuted at Rs 662 with 56 per cent premium on the BSE.

The company headed by Ashok Soota earlier was at the helm of Wipro Infotech, entered the bourses today with 3.72 crore shares with an issue price of Rs425 per share.

Within minutes of listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Mindtree scrip hit highs of Rs678.80 as 3.29 lakh shares exchanged hands.

On the National Stock Exchange, Mindtree shares opened at Rs627 with a 47.5 per cent premium over its issue price and hit a high of Rs664 as it witnessed bustling activity resulting in 5.54 lakh shares being traded.

MindTree Consulting, a software services and the product realisation company, raised Rs237.5 crore through the IPO that was oversubscribed over 100 times.
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Sekhsaria-Holcim combine acquires 2 pc more in ACC
Kolkata: The Sekhsaria group-Holcim combine has raised its stake in ACC by over 2 per cent in the last fortnight through secondary market operations, according to a disclosure to the stock exchanges.

Ambuja Cement, the principal stakeholder in ACC Ltd, has raised its stake further through the creeping acquisition route to 37.07 per cent from 35.15 per cent. This has been achieved through market purchase of 36 lakh shares between February 14 and March 6.

Holderind Investments, the investment arm of the Swiss cement major Holcim, has also acquired for the first time the status of PAC with Ambuja Cement by mopping up 5.41 lakh ACC shares from the market, representing 0.29 per cent voting rights in ACC, during the same period.

Currently, Holderind Investment Ltd holds 16.51 per cent in GACL and the Sekhsaria family-controlled Ambuja Cement India Pvt Ltd holds around 10 per cent.
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Vimal Oil & Foods plans FPO, rights issues
Mumbai: The Ahmedabad-based Vimal Oil & Foods is entering the capital market with a follow-on public and rights issues to part-finance diversification into snacks and food processing.

The follow-on public issue of 99.66 lakh equity shares with a face value of Rs10 has been priced at a premium of Rs 20 per share, while the rights issue of 27.30 lakh equity shares will be offered at Rs25 (a premium of Rs 15 per share). The rights issue will be in the ratio of 3 equity shares for every five shares held.

The public issue opens on March 14 and closes on March 23. The company's stock on the BSE gained sharply by 5.45 per cent at Rs37.75 on Wednesday against the previous day close of Rs35.80.

The company will be raising Rs35 crore through the equity-cum-rights issue. Indian Bank has extended a term loan of Rs5 crore and the promoters will be investing Rs2 crore (apart from the rights issue) in the project. The new plant will be operational by December.
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Overseas investors buy Rs2,045 crore in derivatives
Mumbai: Overseas investors bought a net Rs2,045 crore ($460.2 million) of equity derivatives on March 7, according to figures released by the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. on its Web site.

Open interest, or the number of contracts outstanding in value terms, rose 2.1 per cent to Rs35,067 crore.
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Intense Tech to raise $10 m through QIP route
Mumbai: Intense Technologies' board of directors has approved raising upto $10 million through the issue of equity shares, convertible instruments etc through a Qualified Institutions Placement to Qualified Institutional Buyers.

The board has also approved the proposed New ESOP Plan: ESOP 2007 for grant and issue of 5 lakh equity shares to the employees, Intense Technologies informed the BSE.
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Merrill Lynch unit buys 6.15-per cent stake in Goldstone Tech
Mumbai: Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana SA SV acquired 8,00,000 shares, or a 6.15 per cent stake, in Goldstone Technologies on February 28 through open market purchases.
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FINO to raise Rs80 crore equity capital
Bangalore: Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO) plans to raise Rs80 crore - by way of equity commitments from three international entities and four public sector banks - to set up back-end infrastructure here, a top company executive said.

Indian Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank and Corporation Bank would pick up a stake of 7.5 per cent each, and International Finance Corporation, Legatun Finance (15 per cent each) and Intel Capital (10 per cent) in this round, said Manish Khera, CEO of FINO.

FINO in which ICICI Bank holds 30 per cent, is a technology solutions provider focusing on the micro-finance sector. The company is targeting an annual revenue of Rs500 c rore in the fifth year.
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No ban on maize futures
New Delhi: Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar said there would be no ban on futures trading of maize, as demanded by starch manufacturers and the poultry industry.

He said as maize is not for human consumption and farmers should also get a better price.

The Government would wait for the report before taking a decision (on banning commodities), he added.

The rates of maize at the leading agri commodity exchange NCDEX started slipping a month ago and reached Rs815 per quintal on February 2. Hence the demand for a ban reduced any possibility of recovery and it went down further, analysts said.

The March contract of maize at NCDEX dived by 1.12 per cent to close at Rs749.50 a quintal yesterday while it was traded at Rs738 per quintal at 14.00 hr today. The March futures stood at Rs772 per quintal on Saturday.
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TV18's arm acquires majority stake in Bigtree
Mumbai: The Internet arm of Television Eighteen India arm, Web18, has acquired a majority stake in Bigtree Entertainment, a comprehensive entertainment ticketing applications and solutions provider for an undisclosed amount.

Web 18 said this investment would further strengthen the Group's position in the Internet and Mobile transactions space.

Over the past 8 years, Bigtree has established a strong brand presence in the Indian market by offering its integrated entertainment ticketing solutions and services across 35 cities in India. It offers a host of services through software products ranging from box office ticketing, concessions management and web ticketing amongst others.

Bigtree provides the necessary software, processes, systems, door delivery options, cash collection, warehousing and accounting services. It currently handles over 2.5 million ticketing transactions annually for all major exhibition chains across the country.

Web18 also has a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India, acquired a few months ago.

Web18 already owns popular portals like cricketnext.com and products comparison site compareindia.com.
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Gold to shine brighter
Mumbai: Gold is moving up in the international market after the continuous decline over the last three days on expectations that the dollar would dip against the euro.

In domestic futures, MCX gold for April closed at Rs9,353 per 10 gm, up Rs63. March silver closed at Rs 19,447 per kg, up Rs311. The combined bullion contracts registered a turnover of Rs1,826.03 crore.
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