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Bharti Airtel and MTN have still not managed to get their merger act together and don’t expect to do so any time soon. They have 10 days to go for the August 31 deadline for exclusive talks to end. But Bharti Airtel today announced an extension of talks till September 30. It is unlikely that the two sides are not able to agree on the price, by now they would have called off the talks if price was a sore point
Ackruti City reported its consolidated results today, a month after it reported its standalone results. The real estate company’s operating income fell by 82% to Rs 40.9 crore during the June 2009 quarter, but lower operating expenditure and an increase in its inventory (unsold flats) ensured it still made profits during the quarter.
DIL is selling a 70% stake in its contract research subsidiary to a European company Evotec AG, headquartered in Germany. DIL was earlier known as Duphar Interfran and it changed its name after its pharmaceutical business was hived off to Solvay. Of its consolidated turnover of Rs 70 crore in 2008-09, bulk drugs/chemicals contributed to over half, while research and development contributed to about a third at Rs 22 crore.
IRB Infrastructure Developer’s bid for the Sindhudurg Airport has been accepted. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the special planning authority for the project, has selected it, said the company in a release to the BSE. The airport operator will have to design, build and operate the airport.
Private airlines called off their proposed strike on August 18. The Federation of Indian Airlines made no mention on its website of the strike or it being called off. A Reuters report quoted a statement by FIA saying that the airlines were calling off the strike as the government had asked them to come for talks.
Continue ReadingEven as the government talks about a recovery in the kharif sowing pattern, the monsoon is moving in a volatile fashion. Last week (July 23-July 29), the actual rainfall was 18% less than the average seen in this period. In the previous week, actual rainfall was 15% higher.
Continue ReadingIt seems to be the season of GDR issues, just like it was the season of ECBs (external commercial borrowings) and FCCBs (foreign currency convertible bonds) a few years ago. After Tata Steel and Suzlon Energy, Tata Power has announced its intention to raise $250mn or about Rs 1,200 crore through a GDR issue. It also has a green shoe option allowing it to retain a portion of the oversubscription.
Continue ReadingConsumer inflation has been on a steady rise even as wholesale price inflation has been dropping, even turning negative in certain weeks. This is not a new development but the trend is not showing signs of slowing down. The Consumer Price Index for agricultural labour increased by 11.5% in June 2009 over the previous corresponding period while CPI for rural labour too increased by 11.2%. The price index had risen by 10.2% in May 2009, reflecting a sharp increase.
The government has further reduced its role in Satyam Computer Services (rebranded as Mahindra Satyam), after Tech Mahindra completed the open offer process and then followed up by hiking its stake through a preferential allotment. That completes a major part of its task ensuring that Satyam stays afloat.
HCL Axon, a software company implementing SAP and a subsidiary of HCL Technologies, has acquired the enterprise solutions SAP practice from UCS Solutions, part of the South African UCS Group. The acquired division does SAP implementation for retail and wholesale companies. The consideration is $7.7mn plus an additional payment depending on the growth achieved over two years.