Suzlon acquires REpower for €1.35 bn
Mumbai: Indian wind turbine maker, Suzlon Energy has won the €1.3 billion (about Rs7,314 crore) bid to acquire German wind power company REpower. The acquisition involves a cash outflow of € 250 million.

The deal sent Suzlon shares soaring by up to 22 per cent on Friday after French nuclear major Areva, (the other contender for REpower) withdrew from the bidding on Thursday night saying it would not raise its bid beyond €140 per share. Suzlon had offered € 150 per REpower share, valuing the German wind turbine maker at around € 1.2 billion ($1.6 billion).

Suzlon would control about 75 per cent equity in REpower. This price increased to € 1.35 billion after a capital increase.

Suzlon now owns and has managing control in REpower. It also has voting rights from both Martifer and Areva on the board.

Tulsi Tanti chairman of Suzlon said, "It is a good structured financial engineering deal by which without owning 100 per cent of REpower, we have the full control of REpower. Areva will retain its stake of over 30 per cent in REpower. But it has signed a binding agreement that would give Suzlon the voting rights of Areva in REpower. After one year, Areva has the option to sell its shares to Suzlon at the market price reigning at that time."

Martifer, a unit of Portugal's largest builder Mota Engil, and Suzlon's partner during the bidding process, has 23 per stake in REpower. Suzlon will buy Martifer's stake within two years for a fixed price of € 265 million.
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Tata Tea sells stake in Glaceau at huge premium
Mumbai: Tata Tea has decided to sell its 30 pc stake in US-based Energy Brands Inc for $1.2 billion making a profit of $523 million on the stake sale. This works out to a hefty 77 per cent return in nine months.

Tata Tea's purchase of 30 per cent equity in Energy Brands was for $677 million.

Tata Tea's share price has soaring appreciated by 35 per cent since April 25, when reports of Coke's interest in Glaceau first came in and its market value has risen by more than Rs1,400 crore. Today's announcement sent its stock to an all-time high. Apart from the tangible gain the company said it had gained a pool of knowledge in the enhanced beverage sector of the dynamic US market in the last 8-9 months.

This will come in handy since Tata Tea has identified the beverage segment and the US market as its focus.
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Indian oil cos hit with Iraq bouncer
New Delhi: Indian oil companies which completed negotiations with the Saddam Hussein regime for oil blocks in Iraq will now have to put in fresh bids for the same said the visiting said the visiting Iraqi Oil Minister Mr Hussein al-Shahristani. The companies that had bid for acquiring stake in the Tuba oil field include a consortium of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Reliance Industries Ltd and Sonatrach of Algeria.

The Minister also said that onshore Block 8, earlier awarded to OVL, would be reviewed in accordance with the new oil and gas law of that country. -Shahristani said "All contracts signed by the previous regime or the Kurdish regional Government will have to be revisited and amended to make them compliant with our new law," he said after a meeting of the India-Iraq Joint Working Commission.

The new oil and gas law is likely to be passed within two months.
OVL and its partners had earlier completed negotiations with the Saddam Hussein Government for a stake in the Tuba field, but the deal could not be taken to its logical conclusion due to the US-led attack on Iraq.
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NTPC signs energy pact with Nigeria
New Delhi: NTPC has signed an energy co-operation pact with the Nigerian Government, under which it would get access to at least three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on a long-term basis for fuelling its projects in India, besides getting assistance in participation in the bidding for gas block in the African nation. In return NTPC would set up and operate a 500 MW coal-fired power plant and a 700 MW gas-based power plant in Nigeria on its own or through a joint venture. The company shall also assist Nigeria utilities in rehabilitation, renovation and modernisation of its power stations and also help in developing and upgrading existing training facilities.

NTPC officials did not give an estimate of the price at which LNG would be bought under the pact, but a statement from the company said it would get LNG at a "reasonable price."

Nigeria has estimated natural gas reserves of approximately 104 trillion cubic feet — the tenth largest reserves in the world.
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Adidas takes BCCI, Sachin to MRTPC
New Delhi: Adidas has filed a petition in the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) seeking to restrain India's cricket board BCCI and its sports apparel rival Nike from using the images of Sachin Tendulkar for promotions when he is not playing for the country.

Adidas has also asked MRTPC to direct Tendulkar to furnish an undertaking that he personally endorsed Adidas although Nike sponsored the Indian cricket team's on-field uniform.

During the proceedings, Adidas argued that BCCI granted Nike only sponsorship and licensing rights and to carry trademarks of the batsman while playing for the country.

The company says that personal endorsement rights were never a subject to this contract (between BCCI and Nike) and Nike has no right to use Sachin Tendulkar's name for endorsements.

Adidas has made BCCI, Nike, Tendulkar and his manager Iconix respondents to the case.

The commission has listed the matter for hearing in July.

BCCI has a five-year contract with Nike for the team uniform. Nike won the sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in 2005 with a bid of Rs199.66 crore beating Reebok whose bid stood at Rs119.48 crore and Adidas (Rs127.50 crore).
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Moser Baer to distribute films
Mumbai: Moser Baer is getting into distribution of films and has acquired the rights for three Hollywood movies — Disney's animation flick Air Bud, Ten Commandments and Righteous Kill — all slated for release this year.

The rights include theatrical distribution rights, satellite distribution rights, as also home video rights for all SAARC countries.

Moser Baer wanted to acquire only the home video rights for the three films but was told by the production studios that the rights would be available only in a package.

The company said it would look for the distribution rights of more such films in the future.

Moser Baer is paying the Hollywood studios around 20 per cent royalty on sales and will earn 50 per cent of its revenues from theatrical rights, while satellite and home video rights will contribute 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
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RComm subscribers offered free call scheme
Mumbai: Reliance is offering free unlimited outgoing calls to local Reliance mobile phones in select regions of the country.

The company has introduced the facility in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Chennai and in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The move will benefit customers with heavy Reliance-to-Reliance usage.

The `pre-paid unlimited' plan is available at Rs490 for 30 days and includes Rs100 talk time for other calls, said a release from the company. Similarly, post-paid subscribers can opt for a Rs375 pack for unlimited calling while roaming on any post-paid plan. A spokesperson said that the company has not decided on introducing the service in other circles but will take a call by May 31, depending on the data available. This is the third time in one week that the company has slashed tariffs. It has also slashed rates for calls to Gulf regions by over 36 per cent.
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