Breach of Contract May Force Corus to Shut Teesside Unit - Tatas-owned steel maker Corus announced on Friday that the company has started consultations that may force it to 'mothball' its Teesside Cast Products plant in north-east England after a consortium of four international slab buyers suddenly cancelled a 10-year contract to buy almost 78% of Teesside's output. The closure of the Teesside plant would put about 2,000 direct jobs and 1,000 other jobs at risk, according to the UK government estimates. Corus had an outline agreement with a consortium headed by Mantova-based Marcegaglia, one of the members of the consortium, to sell the Teesside plant for an estimated $480 million. The future of that deal has been under a cloud in the recent weeks, though the company said it still has an MoU in place. (The Economic Times)
Telecom Buyouts May Face Up To 20% Levym - Telecom operators buying another telco may have to pay 10-20% of the acquisition price to the government. A government committee looking into spectrum-related issues is examining the possibility of specifying a certain percentage of the deal size as spectrum transfer fee in case of a merger and acquisition (M&A) in the telecom space. The committee is also considering another option of charging a portion of the market value of the spectrum held by the seller as the spectrum transfer fee. The market value could be determined based on a recent spectrum auction in that particular telecom circle or a comparable one, or after extrapolation from past auctions. In this case, the fee will differ from circle to circle. (The Economic Times)
Gopinath to Sell 24% Stake in Deccan Express Logistics - Country’s first low cost airline founder, Captain G R Gopinath, on Friday launched his air cargo venture called Deccan Express Logistics. Gopinath has invested $25 million and also plans to divest his stake in the company in the next 3-4 months to bring in an additional $30 million. The company will offload around 24% stake to strategic investors. (The Economic Times)
Indiabulls Real Estate to Raise $150 Million from QIP Issue - Property developer Indiabulls Real Estate (IBREL) is talking to investors to raise at least $150 million (Rs 750 crore) from sale of shares to select investors as part of its qualified institutional placement (QIP) plan. The Mumbai-based real estate developer has begun its road show and has hired Morgan Stanley as adviser. Indiabulls Real Estate had announced last month that it planned to raise $600 million (Rs 3,000 crore) from sale of shares from a QIP issue.The money from the QIP is expected to be used to fund its power projects, mainly the 1,320 megawatt project planned to be built in Amaravati, Maharashtra. The company plans to seek shareholders’ approval at a meeting on May 18. The QIP was expected to be a precursor to the initial public issue being planned by the company. (Business Standard)
DBS Exits HDFC Bank, Deutsche Securities Steps In - Singapore-based lender DBS Bank today sold off its entire stake in HDFC Bank, while Deutsche Securities Mauritius picked up 3.78 million shares in the country’s second largest private sector bank. DBS Bank sold HDFC Bank’s 11.62 million shares, equivalent to a 2.7 per cent stake, at Rs 1,111.04 per share realising around Rs 1,291 crore through the bulk deal. The shares were acquired by the Singapore-based bank in March 2005 when they were trading at around Rs 600. Deutsche Securities Mauritius' share acquisition was done on behalf of overseas investors and not for Deutsche Bank. The 3,782,799 shares account for 0.88 per cent stake in HDFC Bank. (Business Standard)
Shinsei May Exit MF Venture in India, Post-US Subprime Knocks - Japanese financial services firm Shinsei Bank may exit its mutual fund venture in India, and has already initiated talks with Indian Bank to sell its stake. Indian Bank is exploring the possibility of setting up a mutual fund venture in India. It is believed the move has been prompted by the problems being faced by Shinsei Bank in its home country. According to foreign media reports, Shinsei Bank is in talks for a merger with Aozora Bank, also Japan-based. Both banks have been hit by their exposure to US subprime loans, and other failed overseas investment bets. (The Economic Times)
L&T to Sell its 11.5% Stake in UltraTech - Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will sell its 11.5% stake in the Aditya Birla group company UltraTech Cement by December. Pegged at around Rs 800 crore at Friday's market price, the sale proceeds will prop up L&T's bottomline in 2009-10. The company will also realise a further Rs 100 crore of other income from the sale of its ready-mix concrete assets in 2009-10. It had sold that business to Lafarge in 2008 for Rs 1,480 crore, and around Rs 100 crore has been pending from this transaction. (The Economic Times)
\n
TV18 to consider rights share issue : India's Television Eighteen Ltd said on Saturday its board will meet on May 13 to consider a rights share issue. The firm, which operates business news channel CNBC-TV 18 and financial and news terminal Newswire18, will also consider increasing its authorised capital at the meet, it said in a statement.
