UB claims debt assignment from
Shaw Wallace creditor
Calcutta: The UB group claims that it has obtained "assignment of debt" from a creditor of Shaw Wallace & Co and that it has purchased the company's shares.

Shaw Wallace & Co had earlier said the UB group had no business involving itself in the matter of repayment of the Rs 250-crore debt and intervening in the Calcutta High Court hearing by making a bid for three of Shaw Wallace's key liquor brands -- Royal Challenge, Director's Special and Haywards.

The court did not accept the UB affidavit, but directed the group to file a fresh application for the brands.
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Herbertsons seeks court directive against Chhabrias
Calcutta: Herbertsons Ltd has filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking an order to restrain Manu Chhabria and Kishore Chhabria from settling the BDA Distilleries dispute. The case follows a petition filed by Shaw Wallace & Co against Kishore Chhabria regarding the ownership of BDA Distilleries.

Herbertsons has sought a court directive to both Manu Chhabria and Kishore Chhabria not to take any further steps in the suit without giving notice to the solicitors of Herbertsons, and not to file any terms of settlement or apply for any consent decree relating to the BDA ownership issue.

Herbertsons said the company, along with three others, had purchased one lakh shares of BDA.
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Daewoo to source Matiz from India
Calcutta: India will be the global sourcing point for Daewoo's Matiz cars. Worldwide, there is a good demand for the car and the Korean chaebol feels its Indian facility will be best suited to execute the orders.

Daewoo Motors India deputy-managing director Min Byung-soh revealed that the company has orders for 1,000 Matiz cars from Europe, and by March 2000 at least 5,000 cars will be exported.

Daewoo sold 1.59 lakh Matiz cars worldwide during April to August 1999 compared to the 1998-99 full year sale figure of 1.87 lakh. Besides the European continent, the UK and Egypt are two countries where the car is popular.
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HCL Tech to give 20% stake to staff
New Delhi: HCL Technologies will offer 8.4 per cent more of its equity to its employees. The company had earlier announced that it will offer 11.6 per cent of its equity to its staff  under an employees' stock option plan.

HCL Technologies is coming out with an initial public offering to divest 10 per cent of the company's equity.
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Cummins India to be global source
Pune: Cummins India is fast emerging as the global sourcing point for its US parent, the Cummins Engine Company. The Rs 743-crore Indian arm, which makes diesel engines and generator sets, has anexclusive manufacturing facility for four models of Cummins engines for the world market

The company is working on dual fuel, gas and compressed natural gas engines for the US parent.
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Usha India in power sector
New Delhi: Usha India, the flagship company of Group Usha, is diversifying into the power sector. It has tied up with Enertron of Spain for a solar power project, and is negotiating with Agra International of Canada and the Switzerland-based Sulzer group for its foray into the hydel sector. The company will enter only hydro and solar power segments and stay out of the thermal segment.

"Since we are in steel and telecom, we are now looking at a presence in some of the other infrastructure segments," M.C. Gupta, managing director of the company, said. The company has expertise in developing captive power projects for its steel plants.
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Reliance hikes polymer product prices
Mumbai: Reliance Industries has increased the prices of polyethylene, polypropylene, partially-oriented yarn and polyester staple fibre. This is the second increase in prices of these four products in the last 12 days.

The price of polyethylene has been increased by 4 per cent, that of polypropylene by 6 per cent, partially-oriented yarn by 3 per cent, and polyester staple fibre by 4 per cent. The company claimed that the price increase is the result of a steep upward increase in Asian prices of these products.
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Grain Tech to enter branded food segment
New Delhi: Grain Tech, formerly Agro Tech India before its takeover by American Rice Inc of the US, will enter the branded foods sector through joint ventures. The company will shortly launch its own brand of non-basmati rice, 'Uphaar'. It is also entering into a marketing agreement with Ruchi Soya, the country's largest importer of edible oil, for its vanaspati.

The company has spent Rs 4 core to set up the largest integrated rice milling plant in north India with a capacity of 720 tonnes per day for shelling paddy to produce ordinary and basmati rice. It has also set up cattle feed, vanaspati and solvent extraction plants in Ludhiana in Punjab.
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Open offer for Fine Drugs' shares
Mumbai: Vidyut Investment and Vorin Laboratories have offered to purchase equity shares of Fine Drugs and Chemicals. The two companies have made an open offer to all the equity shareholders of Fine Drugs and Chemicals to purchase their Rs 10 shares at Rs 9.20 per share.
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CDC divesting stake in DSQ
Bangalore: The Commonwealth Development Corporation is reported to be selling its 19 per cent stake in DSQ Software to a group of US investors. The UK-based private equity fund had bought the shares at Rs 10 a share some six years ago.
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Thapars to place AP Rayon stake with funds
New Delhi: The Thapar group is planning placement of 20 per cent equity holding in group company AP Rayons with private equity funds. The group is now in negotiations with some foreign-based asset management companies.

The Thapar group has a 49 per cent stake in AP Rayons, and the rest is held by Chescor Private Equity Fund, financial institutions, and the public. Besides the funds generated by the placement, the group will also make an additional investment of Rs 70 crore in the company. AP Rayonas has a paid-up capital of Rs 32 crore.
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Mittal, Shah promote film venture
Mumbai: LMB Holdings of the UK, a company promoted by L N Mittal, has signed an agreement with diamond exporter Bharat Shah to set up a joint venture film production unit in the city. The firm, called Mega Film & TV Productions, will be registered in Mauritius. The joint venture expects to finance 15 to 20 blockbusters annually and has planned an outlay of around Rs 150 crore in the first year.

The joint venture has also tied up distribution arrangements. While Indian rights will be with Mr Shah's VIP Enterprises, the international rights will vest with Eros International, a company promoted by Mr Mittal and Arjan and Kishore Lulla.
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Deutsche Telekom interested in Global One
Geneva: Deutsche Telekom is all set to take control of Global One, its corporate communications venture with Sprint and France Telecom.

Industry sources said both Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom are interested in buying Global One. Otherwise they risked depressing the value of their stakes in the venture. The two groups hold around 25 per cent each in the company.

Global One has recorded losses, but company executives say it is worth $10 billion.
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SBC, Deutsche in talks?
New York: SBC Telecommunications, the biggest US local carrier, and Deutsche Telekom are reported to be in talks for consolidation. A report in a German newspaper did not spell out whether the talks covered a merger or an alliance. Industry analysts said a possible joining of forces between the two offered both companies potential advantages.
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Nippon Mitsubishi, Cosmo announce tie-up
Tokyo: Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corporation and Cosmo Oil Company formally revealed their tie-up to become Japan's biggest oil refiner. The tie-up does not envisage closure of any refinery, and the two companies said they will not reduce their workforce. The alliance covers refining, oil procurement, distribution and lubricants.
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Samsung, Dell in deal
Seoul: Samsung Electronics said it is signing a $8.5 billion deal with Dell Computers to supply liquid crystal displays. The flagship company of the Samsung group said the funds will be used to finance building a next generation LCD plant.

Samsung said it will sign the agreement, which provides for supply of LCD screens to Dell for the next five years.
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Audi recalling sports coupe
Frankfurt: Volkswagen subsidiary Audi of Germany said it is recalling more than 40,000 of its Audi TT sports coupes worldwide to carry out an adjustment of steering. Customers had complained of abrupt handling in high-speed turns.

Audi said it is contacting all the owners, and will carry out the adjustment free of charge.
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