Gammon India in Race to Acquire Maytas Infra - Construction major Gammon India is said to be keen on acquiring Maytas Infra, the embattled infrastructure company promoted by Satyam Founder, B Ramalinga Raju’s Son. This follows the declaration of the Raju family to the stock exchanges that their entire shareholding in Maytas has been pledged with lenders. According to sources Gammon India is being supported by two small-time local players in this endeavour. These two players-Ritwik Projects and SEW Infrastructure (formerly SEW Constructions) are jointly trying to acquire Maytas, with Gammon for the time being in the background. (The Economic Times)
Air India to Spend Most on Aircraft Acquisition in Next Financial Year - With Air India in the process of inducting aircraft, the national carrier would spend most of its over Rs 8,000 crore planned budget on funding its acquisition programme in the next financial year. The plan expenditure for National Aviation Company of India Ltd, which owns Air India, was fixed at Rs 8,165.64 crore, up against last year's allocation of Rs 5,786.48 crore and a revised expenditure of Rs 4,136.89 crore. The airline is funding the acquisition programme through internal accruals. Air India has been seeking from the government a hike in its equity and a soft loan to meet the growing expenditure on its expansion plans and the ongoing acquisition of 111 planes. (The Economic Times)
IIFCL to Raise Rs 2,700 Crore, Lend It to Banks At 7.85% - State owned India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) will on lend proceeds raised through its nearly Rs 2,700 crore bond issue at 7.85%, or 100 basis points above what it will pay to subscribers, to banks. The loans will have a tenure of 15 years and a reset clause every five years. For the projects, IIFCL will lend 10% of the required sum directly and arrange for the banks to lend around 40%. IIFCL has been mandated to raise Rs 40,000 crore of tax-free bonds to finance projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore, as part of the stimulus packages, according to the Interim Budget statement. The target for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 10,000 crore. (The Economic Times)
Safran Defers Plan to Set up MRO in India - French conglomerate Safran, a global company in the defence and aviation sectors, has deferred plans to set up, maintain, repair and overhaul facility (MRO) for aviation engines in India. The company blames the global downturn for its decision. Last year, Safran had announced its plans for an MRO for CFM56 turbofan engines used in Boeing and Airbus and said the 'fleet of CFM56 (in India) was large and called for heavy investments. The company had also said it would identify an Indian partner for this facility. (The Economic Times)
LIC Housing Finance to Float Fin Services Arm, Defers VC Fund - LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL), the country’s second-largest housing finance company, is all set to launch its financial services subsidiary, LIC Housing Finance Financial Services, but has deferred its venture capital fund in view of the market conditions. To start with, the company’s product suite would include home loans, insurance products and mutual funds and going forward it would add on credit cards and other third-party products. Initially, there will be six offices across the major cities in the country and subsequently it will expand in the next financial year. The proposed venture capital fund, which was delayed due to the ongoing financial crisis, is expected to kick off in the first quarter of the next financial year. (Business Standard)
Alan Rosling to Leave Tata Sons - Alan Rosling, executive director of Tata Sons one of the key players who spearheaded the group's global acquisitions, is leaving the company on March 31, when his contract with the group ends. According to a Tata Sons spokesperson, it was decided by mutual agreement that Alan's contract would not extend beyond 31st March 2009. Rosling is also a director of Tata AutoComp Systems and Tata International. (Business Standard)
Satyam Senior VP Sacked - Anil Kumar, senior vice-president of the scam-hit Satyam Computer, has been sacked by the new board of the company. Kumar was based in the US, handling the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical that accounts for about 20 per cent of the company’s overall revenues. Kumar was reporting to Ram Mynampatti, president (North America) and former interim chief executive officer of Satyam. He is the first member of the company’s leadership council to be sacked. However, the new board has not cited any reasons for this decision. (Business Standard)
