Telco ends Q3 with Rs 60 crore loss
Mumbai: The Indica effect is telling on commercial vehicle maker Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company. It has ended the third quarter of 1999-2000 with a net loss of Rs 60.36 crore. In comparison, the net loss  in the corresponding period of 1998-99 was Rs 21.6 crore. The company's turnover rose 52 per cent over the corresponding last year quarter to Rs 2,390 crore with higher sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars. The company expects to break even towards the end of 2000.
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Aiwa picks up 5% in Baron
New Delhi: Japanese consumer electronics company Aiwa is picking up a five per cent holding in Baron International, the exclusive distributor of Aiwa products in India. The two companies are also extending their strategic alliance till 2007 and expanding their product range. Aiwa will bring in Rs 12 crore for the holding. The Baron shares have been issued at Rs 150 per share, according to Shakun Mulchandani, chairperson of Baron International.

The agreement will result in the introduction of Aiwa products like large screen colour televisions, HDTVs, plasma and MP3 players. Kabir Mulchandani, chief executive officer of Baron, says the company will focus on introducing new products like car audios, headphone stereos, cordless phones and portable audio players. The company is also tying up with Countrywide Finance to offer finance schemes for colour TVs.
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Zee to allot equity to Goldman Sachs
Mumbai: Zee Telefilms is planning to allot nearly two per cent of its equity to Goldman Sachs Investments, the Mauritius-based institutional investor, licensed to operate in India, to raise funds for its Internet business. The allotment will be in the form of share warrants, which will be converted into equity shares of one rupee each at a premium of Rs 999, within three months of  the allotment. Zee Telefilms will utilise the Rs 800 crore mobilised through this allotment for setting up the required Internet infrastructure.

Zee Telefilms is also seeking loans from Indian banks to make payments to News Corp for acquiring its holding in Asia Today, Siticable, and Patco.
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Asatsu, HTA in alliance
Mumbai: Asatsu DK, Japan’s third largest advertising agency, and Hindustan Thompson Associates are entering into a cooperative alliance. The alliance will mark Asatsu’s entry into India. According to HTA officials, the alliance will work mainly for Japanese clients.

HTA’s parent, J. Walter Thompson, has been collaborating with Asatsu globally for some time.
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Nirma to take over Kisan
Ahmedabad: Nirma is acquiring Kisan Industries for Rs 120 crore in a cash deal. Kisan, maker of detergents and single super phosphate fertilisers, is owned by the Kisan Discretionary Trust, which in turn is controlled by the promoters of Nirma. Kisan has its plant at Moraiya near Ahmedabad. The company has assets in excess of Rs 100 crore and its turnover for 1998-99 was Rs 222 crore. In the first six-month period of 1999-2000, the company had a turnover of Rs 205 crore and profit before tax of Rs 46 crore.
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Synergy Log-In to acquire Singapore company
Mumbai: Synergy Log-In Systems, a banking software company based in Chennai, is acquiring a Singapore-based company, and it is funding the acquisition through a private placement of 24 lakh equity shares (constituting 20 per cent of its equity) at about Rs 83 per share. The company’s share is priced around Rs 130 now. One of its business associates, Cerebrus Software of the UK, has picked up 1.5 lakh shares. Synergy markets Cerebrus’s products in India.
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Matiz to cost more
New Delhi: Daewoo Motors India is increasing the price of its Matiz cars by Rs 25,000 before the end of January, according to the company.
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Ispat Metallics' second furnace in February
Calcutta: Ispat Industries subsidiary Ispat Metallics India, is commissioning its second blast furnace in February 2000, which is expected to reduce the cost of hot-rolled coils by Rs 1,600 per tonne, making the company one of the cheapest producers of the material in the world. The furnace is being set up at a cost of Rs 1,840 crore.
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Praxair’s carbon dioxide plant near Mumbai
Mumbai: Multinational company Praxair is setting up a world-scale carbon dioxide plant near Mumbai with an investment of Rs 25 crore. The unit will make 120 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day. The project will be part of Praxair Carbon Dioxide, a joint venture between Praxair and Indian firm Chemicon. Praxair has a 90 per cent holding in the company. Praxair also plans to start four filling stations for its industrial gases in India.
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Microsoft tie-ups for data warehousing
New Delhi: Microsoft Corporation has tied up with seven Indian infotech companies to provide data warehousing solutions based on Microsoft SQL Server. The seven Indian companies are Wipro, Citicorp Information Technologies India, Sonata Software, Tata Consultancy Services, India Software Group, Kumaran Systems, and Axxon Technologies. The partnerships will educate Indian business houses about the benefits of data warehousing and offer data warehousing solutions across industry segments like manufacturing, banking, marketing and sales, financial services, telecommunications, insurance, and retail.
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EMI, Time Warner formalises merger plan
London: EMI Group and Time Warner have formally said they are merging their music businesses to create a records company worth $20 billion, expected to be the world’s No 1. The new company, Warner EMI Music, will bring together a star-studded roster of artists and catalogues in a 50:50 joint venture.

Time Warner, which has already announced its merger with America Online, will take management control of the new company. Roger Ames, Warner Music’s chairman, will head the new venture as chief executive with Time Warner president Richard Parsons and EMI chairman Eric Nicoli as co-chairmen. EMI shareholders will be offered 100 pence per share in cash, which will cost Time Warner $1.3 billion.
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Aga Khan selling Italian airline Meridiana
Milan: The Aga Khan is planning to sell his airline Meridiana, registered in Italy. This will mark the end of the spiritual leader’s 40-year-old connections with Italy, especially with Sardinia, where he had developed the jet-set resort of Costa Smeralda. He is understood to have instructed Lloyds TSB and KPMG Corporate Finance to find buyers for his airline, which is Italy’s second largest domestic carrier after Alitalia.

The Aga Khan owns 79 per cent of the airline. The remaining shares are held by the airline’s employees and the Cariplo Milan savings bank.
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Peugeot plans $3 billion investment
London: PSA Peugeot-Citroen is investing up to $3.07 billion in 2000 in new models and engines to ensure its independence, according to newspapers in London, which quoted Peugeot officials. The company will use the extra investment to meet its goals without joining consolidation moves.
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P&G is talking with Warner, AHP
New York: Procter & Gamble is continuing its merger talks with Warner-Lambert and American Home Products, according to highly-placed company sources. The FMCG company will not react officially. A combination of Warner-Lambert and AHP can transform Procter & Gamble from a peripheral player in the pharmaceutical industry to a leading role.

Warner-Lambert, meanwhile, said it is continuing its talks with Pfizer, which is into a hostile $75 billion acquisition bid for the New Jersey-based company. Warner-Lambert agreed to talk to Pfizer after rejecting its advances for months in favour of a $61 billion merger plan with American Home Products. Ever since, Warner-Lambert has been in search of a white knight to rescue it from the advances of Pfizer.
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