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Lafarge plans cross-border venture
New Delhi: A proposal by French cement company Lafarge to set up a
project in association with the Asian Development Bank has been cleared by the committee
of secretaries. The project involves cross-border trade. Under it limestone, abundantly
available in Meghalaya, will be processed and then supplied to a cement plant in
Bangladesh. The project is estimated to cost $240 million and will be implemented by
a Lafarge subsidiary with equity participation by ADB, the European Investment Bank and
the International Finance Corporation. The Lafarge subsidiary will hold majority share in
the proposed company.
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Bharti-BT acquires 2 portal sites
Mumbai: Bharti-BT Internet, the Bharti
group’s Internet service-providing arm, is understood to have acquired two portal
sites. The company is likely to announce the acquisitions shortly. It had earlier acquired
teenfunda.com, a portal aimed at youth. Bharti-BT Internet offers its Internet access
service under the Mantra Online brand.
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Global shipping cos
keen on Pipavav equity
Mumbai: Maersk-Sealand of Denmark, Evergreen of Taiwan and European
Uniglory are in talks with Gujarat Pipavav Port, India’s first port in the joint
sector, for a possible equity participation. Gujarat Pipavav Port intends to offer five to
seven per cent equity holding in the company to a global shipping company in order to
avail of dedicated services to the port. Company officials confirmed that talks are
progressing in this regard with the three foreign container services.
The current equity in Gujarat Pipavav Port is held by
Gujarat Maritime Board and Port of Singapore (26 per cent each), Sea King Infrastructure
of Ahmedabad (25 per cent), Commonwealth Development Corporation of the UK (5 per cent)
and the balance individual promoters. About five to seven per cent of this is reserved for
a shipping company.
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Birla Tyres, Pirelli
talks confirmed
Mumbai: BK Birla group company Kesoram
Industries is in talks with the Pirelli group of Italy to set up a tyre manufacturing
joint venture with Birla Tyres.
The company sent a response to queries by the National
Stock Exchange confirming the talks with Pirelli to offload 50 per cent of its stocks in
Birla Tyres at a cost of $150 million.
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ICICI to pick up stake
in Arvind Garments
Mumbai: ICICI is taking some 40 per cent equity holding in the Arvind
Mills newly-set up subsidiary Arvind Garments. The financial institution has earmarked
about Rs 100 crore for investing in optionally convertible debentures of the company,
which will be converted into equity over a period of time on the basis of the company
meeting its revenue and earning targets. Arvind Garments is now bidding for Madura
Coats’ brands including Van Heusen and Allen Solley.
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Skoda plans its Indian
car in June
Pune: Czech automaker Skoda, which plans to set up shop at Aurangabad in
Maharashtra, is likely to roll out its mid-size car meant for India, the Octavia, in June
2000. Initially, the vehicles will be made from semi-knocked down kits imported from the
parent company. The company is understood to be planning to make use of an existing
private automobile plant in Aurangabad to train workers.
Skoda is signing a memorandum of understanding with the
government of Maharashtra for a lease right to a plot of land near Aurangabad to set up
its plant.
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Madura Coats’
board meet to decide on brand sale
Mumbai: Madura Coats is considering the three offers it has received for
its garment brands. The board of the company is meeting on 21 December to take into
account the offers of Grasim, Indus League and Arvind Garments to purchase the four brands
– Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solley and Byford. The company has communicated
to the National Stock Exchange that it retains the right to consider options to enhance
shareholder value.
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Wipro plans for
acquisitions, ADR
New Delhi: Wipro is in the acquisition mould. Without spelling out the
details, its vice-chairman Vivek Paul said acquisitions and an American depository
receipts issue are part of the group’s business strategies for growth in the next 12
months.
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NIIT, Relativity
Technologies in alliance
Calcutta: NIIT and Relativity Technologies of the US have concluded a
global strategic alliance to modernise legacy applications and transform them into
net-enabling technologies. Relativity Technologies is a provider of legacy-to-e-business
solutions, including its well known package RescueWare. The partnership will look at the
needs of companies as they ready themselves to transform and integrate their legacy
applications with the Internet, the two companies said.
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Taj, GVK group sign JV
deal
Mumbai: Indian Hotels Company, which owns the Taj group of hotels, and
the Hyderabad-based GVK group, which owns the Krishna Oberoi and the Holiday Inn Krishna,
have signed a strategic alliance deal. A new company, Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts, will now
run the two hotels in Hyderabad. Indian Hotels Company will have a 25 per cent holding in
the company it will also invest Rs 40 crore in the project. As a result of this alliance,
the two hotels in Hyderabad will be renamed.
The Taj group will now have three hotels in Hyderabad under its brand name, with a total
room base of 575 rooms.
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Branson sells 49% in
Virgin to Singapore Airlines
London: Richard Branson is selling 49 per cent of his falgship company,
Virgin Atlantic, to Singapore Airlines for an estimated $962.9 million. The two companies
signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect on 19 December. The two airlines will
form a global alliance allowing joint flights, shared passenger lounges and other
benefits. They will also ensure that routes are not overlapped and separate identities and
products are maintained. The price that cash-rich Singapore Airlines is paying includes
capital injection. According to reports, Mr Branson may also buy a stake in Singapore
Airlines.
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Monsanto, Pharmacia
& Upjohn merge
Stockholm: Monsanto and US-Swedish drug
company Pharmacia & Upjohn are merging to create another global major in the drug
industry. The merged entity, according to analysts, will be the 11th largest
drug company in the world with a market capitalisation of $50 billion, total sales of $17
billion and a number of blockbuster drugs in its stable.
The two companies said, they expected spin off the
combined agribusiness unit to a separate entity and will considering offering 19.9 per
cent of this entity in an initial public offering.
Under the terms of the agreement Pharmacia & Upjohn
shareholders will get 1.19 shares in the new, yet unnamed, company for every share they
hold, while Monsanto shareholders it will be a one-for-one swap. Monsanto shareholders
will own 51 per cent of the new company.
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Cisco to buy
Pirelli’s networking business
Palo Alto: Cisco Systems is buying the optical networking systems
business of Pirelli of Italy for $2.15 billion in a stock transaction. Sources following
the deal said it will consolidate Cisco’s plans for sending phone, Internet and video
traffic over fast optical networks. Cisco is the biggest maker of equipment that is used
on the Internet today.
Cisco will also invest $10 million in cash in
Pirelli’s optical component and submarine optical transmissions systems business.
Besides the optical systems, Pirelli also makes calendars and tyres and its revenue for
1999 has been estimated at $225 million.
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Glaxo seeks nod for
bowel drug
London: Glaxo Wellcome has filed an approval petition with the regulators
seeking permission to market its new bowel drug, Lotronex, in the European Union
countries. The product offers treatment for irritable bowel syndrome among women. The drug
has already won backing from the US Food and Drug Administration.
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Mannesmann may get
nod for Orange buy
Brussels: The European Commission is expected to approve
Mannesmann’s proposed acquisition of British mobile operator Orange. The German
company has offered undertakings to allay fears of reduced competition in a small European
country.
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A speedier Pentium from
Intel
San Francisco: Intel Corporation says it will announce a new range of
Pentium III chips, which it claims are the fastest in the range with speeds of 750 Mhz and
800 Mhz. The new chips are obviously an answer to rival Advanced Micro Devices launching
its 750 Mhz Athlon processor in October, taking the speed monopoly away from Intel. Intel
had earlier announced a 733 Mhz Pentium III as a part of its new range. The new family,
codenamed Coppermine, uses a new manufacturing process. While the 750 Mhz version will be
priced at $803, the 800 Mhz version will be at $851, Intel said.
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