Sun To Invest Rs 332 Crore in Low Cost Drugs - Sun Pharmaceuticals, India’s biggest drug company by market capitalisation, will spend Rs 332 crore in research & development of low-cost versions of original drugs to be sold in the domestic and global markets. The Mumbai-based drug maker had last year spent Rs 290 crore on R&D activities. In an analysts’ call on Monday, the company’s chairman and managing director Dilip Shanghvi said the firm will file 30 ANDA applications with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before March 2010. (The Economic Times)
GM to Sell Hummer to China’s Tengzhong, Helping Shed Brands - General Motors Corp., seeking to shed assets to emerge from bankruptcy, agreed to sell the Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Tengzhong will assume Hummer’s dealer agreements and a senior management team. GM and Tengzhong also plan to form a long-term contract assembly and supply agreement. Hummer is worth an estimated $500 million, GM said in bankruptcy court documents. (Bloomberg)
Canon Singapore Infuses Rs. 100 Crore in Indian Arm - Digital imaging company Canon Inc. has infused Rs. 100 crore into its Indian arm. This has been done through Canon Singapore Pte Ltd., of which Canon India is a wholly-owned subsidiary. Canon India has given Canon Inc the highest growth rate, at a time when many of its other arms have reported lower rates of growth. (The Hindu)
Nomura to Buy 35% in LIC Mutual Fund - Japan's Nomura Group is set to acquire 35 per cent in LIC Mutual Fund, India's seventh largest mutual fund, after the board of directors of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) approved a proposal to induct the Japanese financial services major as a strategic partner in the mutual fund business. The insurance company has formed a four-member committee headed by LIC Chairman TS Vijayan to decide the valuation of LIC Mutual Fund. Besides the valuation, the committee will also decide the terms and conditions of inducting Nomura Holdings or its subsidiary into LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Company and LIC Mutual Fund Trustee Company. (Business Standard)
Adcock Drops Takeover Plans for Cipla Medpro - South African drug major Adcock Ingram has dropped its proposed hostile takeover of another South African drug company, Cipla Medpro SA, mainly due to stiff opposition to the deal from Indian drug maker Cipla, which has a long-term marketing deal with the latter. Adcock Ingram today said Cipla Medpro failed to give its views on the deal’s merits and has instead highlighted the opposition of its principal supplier, Cipla India, to discourage Adcock from proceeding. (Business Standard)
Bharati Shipyard fixes open offer price at Rs 344 - Bharati Shipyard, India's second-largest private shipbuilder, has fixed the open offer price to buy an additional 20 per cent stake in Great Offshore at Rs 344 a share. This is about 6% lower than the closing price of Rs 363.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. The offer will open on July 25 and end on August 13. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) guidelines, the floor for the open offer price has to be the higher than the last two weeks' stock price or the last six months' average price. (Business Standard)
Oil India Plans to Hit Capital Markets in September - Oil India Ltd (OIL), the nation’s second-largest state-run explorer, is likely to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by September this year, company Chairman N M Borah said today. The company has initiated discussions with its IPO advisers to decide on the timing. Eleven per cent fresh equity would be sold in the IPO, while the government would divest 10 per cent of its stake at the IPO price. Post-IPO and disinvestment, the government’s stake in the company will decrease from 98.13% to 78.5%. (Business Standard)
Chakrabarty Set to Take Over as RBI Deputy Governor - Punjab National Bank (PNB) Chairman and Managing Director Kamlesh Chandra Chakrabarty is set to take over as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with the government clearing his appointment today. An official notification was expected over the next few days. Chakrabarty will succeed V Leeladhar, whose term came to an end in early December. (Business Standard)
India Law Firm Lexygen Opens Office in Singapore - Lexygen, an Indian law firm that provides legal representation to a global clientele in the corporate transactional arena, opened its first overseas office in Singapore today. Founded in 2006, Lexygen operates in the India markets in the areas of Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Infrastructure Privatization Projects. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Lexygen has been ranked by Chambers Asia 2009 amongst the top 5 law firms in India for Private Equity work.
Avantha to Sell Stakes in Arms to Raise Rs 1,000 Crore - The Gautam Thapar led Avantha Group is in negotiations with a clutch of private equity (PE) firms to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore by selling minority stakes in its power and food business to grow these non-traditional businesses. Avantha is in talks with two separate sets of investors to offload minority stakes in power generation company, Avantha Power & Infrastructure and Bangalore based food firm Global Green. (The Economic Times)
Helios Plans India ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Stock Fund - Helios Capital Management Pte, the hedge-fund manager once backed by Tudor Investment Corp., plans to start a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ fund that will buy underperforming shares of Indian companies. The firm plans to raise about $50 million by the end of July for its long-only Helios India Jai Ho Fund. (Bloomberg)
