Ford Motor picks stake in Thirdware
Mumbai: The world’s second largest automobile company, Ford Motor Company, announced the acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in an Indian software company for an undisclosed amount, making it the first time that the US company has invested in an infotech firm outside theUS.

Mumbai-based software firm Thirdware Solution, a relatively small player in software services and e-business has been working with FMC for the last five years in the Asia Pacific region, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Phillipines and Thailand.

The automobile major is planning to commit businesses worth $6-18 million to Thirdware Solution over the next three years. Thirdware is currently engaged in implementing an accounting software package -- Peoplesoft -- to cater to the accounting requirements of Ford’s global operations.

Thirdware Solution has been working on industries like consumer packaged goods, automotive, food and beverages and electronic and industrial products. The company has been involved in meeting enterprise application needs of leading Indian corporates including Hindustan Lever.
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Tata Steel to expand its bearing division
Kharagpur: As the two-year non-competition period comes to an end, Tata Steel, which sold off its entire 40 per cent stake in Tata Timken, a 50:50 joint venture with Timken Company of USA, is all set to expand its bearings division.

With customers in the railways and the automobile industries, Timken is the largest taper roller bearing company in the country and among the top three in the world. And it is in this segment that Tata Steel has decided to enter and compete with Timken.

Announcing this Dr. Irani, managing director of Tata Steel, said that the company plans to pump in around Rs. 36 crore for expanding the capacity of the bearings division.

With the bearings division turning in a profit for the first time, Tata Steel is reconsidering its earlier decision of selling the division.
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Bristol-Myers plans to bid for German Remedies
Mumbai: American pharmaceutical major, Bristol-Myers Squibb, which had earlier unsuccessfully tried to enter India, is said to be in the running to acquire the 27.72 per cent stake of the Degussa Group of Germany in the Indian pharma company, German Remedies.

The American major now figures in the shortlist of four companies that Degussa will finally chose from. Other bidders understood to have been shortlisted are Pharmacia & Upjohn of the US and Nicholas Piramal.

While it is understood that a team from Bristol is currently engaged in a due diligence exercise, the company refused to comment on whether it had actually bid for the stake or not.

Bristol is a leading provider of anticancer medication, besides making medication for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases, depression, anxiety and pain.
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Tatas exit joint venture with BP
New Delhi: In keeping with its continued strategy of getting out of unrelated businesses, the Tata Group has made a final exit from the lubricants business. They have sold their 49 per cent stake in the joint venture with British Petroleum, Tata BP, to the foreign partner for an estimated Rs. 6.4 crore.

In keeping with their practice, the Tata Group will retain one per cent stake in the JV, like in the case of Tata IBM.

Tata BP Lubricants, which was set up in 1996 to manufacture and market lubricants, gear oils, greases and hydraulic oils, has its plant at Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.

With an innovative distribution approach based on the consumer goods model, the company has managed to make quick inroads into the market and achieve mass penetration. According to industry sources, Tata BP Lubricants has already managed to corner about 11-12 per cet market share in the approximately Rs 7,000 crore strong lubricants market.
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ICI India sells polyurethane business
New Delhi: The polyrurethane business of ICI India has been sold to the US-based Huntsman Group for an estimated Rs. 82.5 crore. The Huntsman Group is a $8.5 billion chemicals group in the US.

This follows the global acquisition of the polyurethane business from ICI by the US group in 1999. As a result of this acquisition the Indian polyurethane business will offer an extended range of products through the speciality chemicals group of Huntsman.

ICI India, which is on a restructuring binge, had decided to exit from non core areas and align its business in line with its global parent.
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New Balco management considering lock-out at plant
New Delhi: Recently privatised Bharat Aluminium, which supplies nearly 15 per cent of the country’s aluminium output, may well see the new management imposing a lock out at the plant.

The company’s 7,000 workers have been on strike for more than two weeks since the government sold off its 51 per cent holding to private-sector Sterlite Industries. About 700 employees, including 100 workers are voluntarily inside the plant to maintain essential services, Krishnan said.

With work being affected all round, the company’s new managing director, Mr. S. C. Krishnan, stated that they are considering several options for the plant, of which lockout is one of them. He, however, declined, to give details of the other options being considered to end the deadlock.
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Caltex to acquire lube company Chemoleums
New Delhi: Chennai-based lubricant manufacturer, Chemoleums, which had a technical service agreement with Caltex, would now become a 100 per cent subsidiary of the latter. Caltex markets lubricants, LPG and commercial fuels in India.

With a focus on maintaining customer service and leveraging the benefits of both brands, the joint teams from the two companies have been holding integration meetings to discuss the plan forward.

While Mr. K R. Gopal from Caltex is likely to take over as chief operating officer at Chemoleums, all other senior management at the latter will continue.
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Drug Contoller approves Novartis launch of eye product
Mumbai: Novartis India recently received approval from the Drug Controller of India for its new product Visudyne, a drug to combat age-related mascular degeneration. This is an eye disease that causes loss of central vision leaving only peripheral vision intact.

The drug, which will be imported into India, will cost patients Rs 87,000 a vial, inclusive of a 67 per cent import duty. Patients will need three-five vials over two years, depending on the severity of the disease.
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Bajaj-Allianz insurance to kickstart from July
New Delhi: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, which will have a paid-up capital of Rs. 110 crore is likely to start its general insurance operations by July 2001.

This was announced by Mr. Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto, which has partnered the German insurance giant in this venture. The venture is hoping to get all the regulatory clearances by March 31.

Bajaj-Allianz will offer all types of non-life policies including auto and health insurance products. To cash on the German insurer's expertise in the sector, the chief executive officer would be appointed from Allianz while the chief financial officer would be from Bajaj Auto.
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Ispat Industries likely to seek bond rollover
Mumbai: Ispat Industries has asked the trustees of its euro convertible bonds, Bankers Trust, to convene a meeting of all bondholders at London on March 23 to discuss the possibility of seeking a rollover of the bonds.

The company had taken total of $125 million worth of euro convertible bonds. Of this only $2.8 million of the bonds have been converted into equity, while the remaining amount is unlikely to be converted in view of the high price of conversion.

On the same day a meeting of the board of directors of the company has been convened to discuss the scheme of financial restructuring of its outstanding debt as approved by IFCI, the lead financial institution.

The scheme intends to write down or convert existing equity into redeemable preference shares, conversion of part of the rupee debt for the company’s hot-rolled coils project into equity and 1 per cent non-cumulative convertible preference shares. The agenda also envisages reduction in interest rate on rupee term loans and the inflated interest payments.
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Bajaj Auto reshuffles product portfolio
New Delhi: Faced with a decline in scooter sales, the country’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, is undertaking a major reshuffle of its product portfolio which will see its motor cycle division become the main growth vehicle for the company.

Largely driven by the fact that this year is going to the worst year in the history of the company, the management has decided to move fast and reorient its capacities to cater to the demand pattern.

As a result the contribution of motorcycles in the company’s turnover would go up from 33 per cent to 42.8 per cent, while that of scooters would go up marginally from 40 per cent to 42.8 per cent. The company is targeting a total sales of 1.4 million units during the next financial year.

The company has appointed consulting firm McKinsey for recommending restructuring of sales and marketing operations and undertaking cost cutting measures.
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Boeing moving world headquarters out of Seattle
Seattle: In a move that has stunned the hometown that has long been associated with the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, Boeing Industries announced that it is moving its headquarters out of Seattle after having been there for more than 85 years.

Cost savings and the fact that the move will bring its headquarters central to its operations spread over 26 states is said to be the main factors for the decision. Intense competition from Airbus is another factor prompting the move. As part of this move a little less than half of its 1,000-person strong corporate centre will be shifted to the new location and the rest will be redeployed or retrenched.

Boeing's huge jet manufacturing plants will remain in the Seattle area, as will much of its research and development work. Boeing is Washington state's biggest private employer, with 78,400 people in the Seattle area alone.
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