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FDA sidewinder hits Caraco, Sun Pharma suffers collateral damage

June 26, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, a 74% subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, has come under fire from the FDA. American enforcement officials raided Caraco’s plants, seized medicines and ingredients used in their production. The seizure has been attributed to Caraco’s continued failure to meet cGMP norms (current good manufacturing practices). The FDA had warned Caraco in October 2008 and had given it time to rectify the deficiencies.

Nandan Nilekani leaves Infosys, joins government

June 25, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Nandan Nilekani is leaving Infosys as its co-chairman to join the government. He has the task of handing out a unique identification card to every citizen of this country. It’s a simple enough task by itself; but made complex by a large population, spread across a vast geography and the failure of such schemes in the past. Nearly a decade ago, the election commission’s voter identity card programme is still to cover vast parts of the population. Mr Nilekani’s challenge will be to do much better.

Satyam Computer Services gets a new brand: Mahindra Satyam

June 22, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Mahindra Satyam Satyam Computer Services gets a new brand, Mahindra Satyam accompanied by the Mahindra flagship logo. It is not clear if the company will change its name too, as nothing is mentioned in the press release. Branding exercises can appear hyped and meaningless to some but at times, the symbolism can be quite revealing.

Bharti Airtel outsources Value Added Services to Comviva

June 10, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

B hart i Airtel has contracted Comviva, a managed services company, to manage its value added services portfolio. Bharti has been the leader in outsourcing crucial functions, changing the way the telecom industry in India operated. Here it seems to have taken a big leap of faith, outsourcing the crucial function of providing value added services.

Satyam’s Q3 numbers are bad, but not catastrophic

June 9, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Satyam Computer Services has shared the disclosures it made earlier to bidders with its public shareholders. Tech Mahindra had then emerged as the successful bidder and subsequently made an open offer to Satyam’s shareholders.

Opto Circuits joins the long list of companies lining up to raise money.

June 3, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Opto Circuits India has taken enabling approval from its board of directors for raising Rs 400 crore under a qualified institutional placement. The company, which makes medical equipment and electronic components, has also taken approval for an issue of warrants to its promoters. It can issue 60 lakh equity warrants to promoters, directors and employees on a preferential basis. Each warrant will fetch one equity share at a price of Rs 210 compared to the current price of Rs 186. Promoters are in a rush to get warrant issues approved.

Anand Mahindra no longer a promoter of Kotak Mahindra Bank

June 3, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank has told the bank that he does not wish to continue as the promoter of the bank. The board has also approved his request to cease as a promoter. He will continue to be on the board as a non-executive director. Normally, one would wonder why this happened. But in this case, Kotak Mahindra Bank has said that Mr Mahindra’s stake –3.68% including entities controlled by him- will now be reclassified as non-promoter holding.

Siemens to expand steam turbine plant capacity

May 28, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

The company was making single stage and multi stage steam turbines with a capacity of up to 45mw for industrial applications. Steam turbines can be used for various purposes, as a pump drive (feedwater pumps for large boilers), generator drive, compressor drive and waste to energy applications (source: www.siemens.com). The Vadodara factory was set up with an initial investment of Rs 30 crore and after this expansion will be able to make turbines with a capacity of up to 100mw.

Novartis revises open offer price by 28% to Rs 450

May 28, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Novartis AG has offered Novartis India’s shareholders Rs 99 more per share to make its open offer more attractive. The promoter holding in Novartis will increase to 89.93%, if the offer succeeds, just below the 90% cap on promoter holding in a listed company. The current share price is Rs 444 and it remains to be seen how many shareholders tender, even at the revised price of Rs 450. The price had touched a high of Rs 467 indicating investors were expecting the revised price to be higher.

Tata Communications’ 2008-09 results hit by higher interest outgo

May 27, 2009August 20, 2014Editor

Tata Communications’ performance during 2008-09 was a mixed bag. Its sales increased smartly, by 20.1%, driven by an expansion in the volume of traffic it handled during the year. Its profit declined by 2.4% due to a sharp jump in interest costs.