Sun Pharma requests a judgement from Israel’s Supreme Court

Sun said, in a SEC filing, it has extended the tender offer closing date from Jan 9 to Jan 30. It also said that it has informed the Supreme Court that its negotiations to reach a settlement have been unsuccessful. It is now awaiting the court’s decision in the matter. The dispute concerns the price at which Sun will acquire Taro’s shares from promoters and minority shareholders. Initially, Sun had offered $7.75 a share, which it then hiked to $9.50 a share, but Taro responded first with an offer to conduct a shareholder referendum to decide the price. Continue Reading →

Satyam’s options are not many

Can Satyam continue to function under a tainted board? Satyam’s board was already a thinly manned one, with just five members. Two are the promoters B Ramalinga Raju and his brother B Rama Raju who have given their resignations. Ram Mynampati is the senior executive on the board. He has been with Satyam since 1999. The company website says he is the president, commercial and healthcare, since October 2002. It is very difficult to imagine him as the interim CEO, as Raju’s letter proposes, in a situation where trust in its board has evaporated. Continue Reading →

Taro Pharma rejects Sun Pharma’s offer, proposes a shareholder referendum on the offer price

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries has rejected Sun Pharmaceutical’s revised offer price (disclosed yesterday by Sun Pharma) as too low. It has said that Sun Pharma rejected its offer of a face to face meeting, made on December 30, and instead chose to go public with the offers, which were to be confidential. Apparently, Sun Pharma refused to meet unless Taro made a counter offer first.
 

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Indian banks get more life support from the RBI

On Friday, January 2, 2008 the RBI relaxed prudential norms for recognition of bad loans by banks. The move will allow banks to hide their bad loans for a much longer time, even as they hope that the borrowers’ economic condition improves and they pay back or recover their dues through other means.
 

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Suzlon raises cash for REpower acquisition, sells stake in Hansen

Wind power company Suzlon Energy’s is selling part of its 71.3% stake in Hansen Transmissions, a gearbox maker for wind turbines. Ecofin, a London-based investment company that claims to specialise in global utility and infrastructure sectors, will buy a 10% stake in Hansen from AE-Rotor Holding BV, a subsidiary of Suzlon. It will now have an 11.62% voting and economic interest in Hansen, indicating it had a small stake earlier too.
 

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Booster Dose #5: the final attempt, and a weak one at that

The government is readying for elections. It has announced the final round of its fiscal stimulus package. With no signs of the measures taken till now leading to a recovery, the government is throwing everything it can at the slowdown. And, then it will leave the next government to clean up the mess –falling tax revenues, growing fiscal deficit and an economy that refuses to be kickstarted.
 

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Booster dose #4: more money, who wants it?

Enough money has been thrown at banks, industry and consumers. But none of them are showing any interest in it. The RBI has given Rs 300,000 crore in additional liquidity to the banking system, which seems like a lot that has achieved very little other than preventing a financial sector crisis. But now that banks are safe, what’s the guarantee one more round of lollies will force demand out of its hiding?
 

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