Baron, Aiwa in JV for production unit
Mumbai: Baron Electronics and Aiwa of Japan have finalised terms for a joint venture in audio and television manufacturing in India. The venture will have an investment of Rs 25 crore, and Baron is expected to hold the majority stake.

The joint venture will have an installed capacity of 1.2 million TV sets and half a million hi-fi systems besides other audio products. Aiwa will provide the technical knowhow.
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Godrej Soaps to revamp soap brands
Mumbai: Godrej Soaps has engaged Samsika Marketing and Consultants to rebuild and reposition its leading soap brands, including Cinthol, Ganga, Evita and Crowning Glory.

Godrej Soaps managing director Adi Godrej told Business Standard that Samsika has been appointed as consultant for advising the company on marketing strategies. Samsika is headed by Jagdish Kapoor, who is known for his achievements at the Parle group.

Meanwhile, according to the paper, Andersen Consulting is taking a relook at the entire group's business activities. This is a sequel to Mr Godrej's decision to keep each of the group's businesses separate.
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SPIC to restructure
Mumbai: Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation, the MA Chidambaram group company, has decided to restructure its operations. The company plans to exit the pharmaceuticals and shipping sectors and hive off the biotechnology business into a joint venture for which it is scouting for a partner.

The company has conveyed this decision to the financial institutions at a recent meeting.
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Tata Sons plans bonus issue
Mumbai: Tata Sons has proposed an issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one ordinary share for every two held by the shareholders. This is the company's second bonus issue in two years, the last 1:2 bonus issue having been made in 1997.

Tata Sons has also proposed a dividend of 200 per cent for the year 1998-99.

The bonus issue will increase the company's share capital from Rs 26.9 crore to Rs 40.4 crore. A subsidiary company, Tata Infotech, has also proposed a 1:2 bonus issue.
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Agrani to get $100 million loan
New Delhi: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Rs 3,500-crore satellite communications project, Agrani, will receive a $100 million loan from the US Exim Bank. The loan has been tied up by one of the co-promoters of the project, Lockheed Martin, the aerospace company.

The loan will be disbursed after Lockheed Martin brings in its equity into the project. The Exim Bank funding is meant for  equipment procurement. Lockheed Martin will pump in $50 million into the joint venture and a similar amount would come from another partner, Videsh Sanchar Nigam, while Subhash Chandra will bring in $70 million.
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Kotharis split
Kanpur: The Kotharis of the Pan Parag group have split. Mansukhbhai Kothari and his second son Deepak are on one side and elder son Vikram on the other. All the group companies have been divided and cross-holdings traded off.

Vikram Kothari has walked out of the flagship Kothari Products, and Kothari Pouch, involved in the manufacture of Pan Masala. Mansukhbhai Kothari has resigned from the board of Rotomac Pens, a private limited company of the group.
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Voltas restructuring saves Rs 10 crore annually
Mumbai: Voltas is on a restructuring drive aimed at cutting costs and manpower and improving operational efficiency. The Rs 1,311-crore Tata group company has downsized its eight branches into sales offices and moved the administrative responsibility for these offices to four zonal heads. These measures are expected to result in savings of close to Rs 10 crore annually.
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Exide acquires stake in Caldyne Automatics
Calcutta: Exide Industries has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Caldyne Automatics, a small scale unit producing float-cum-boost battery chargers for industrial and traction batteries, DC power control systems and DC distribution boards.

Exide bought over the controlling stake in the Rs 18-lakh equity of Caldyne for a consideration of Rs 26.2 lakh.
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Pfizer seeks nod for subsidiary
Mumbai: Pfizer of the US is making another attempt to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India. The company has made a representation to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is this regard.

Pfizer had made a similar proposal earlier, which the FIPB had rejected. In the new proposal, the US pharma major has given an assurance that it will go for manufacturing activities and  research and development in India.

Pfizer may opt to introduce its new products, including those under patent elsewhere and considered of higher value, through the new company. The multinational has a 40 per cent stake in its current Indian operations.
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Hughes Software plans IPO
New Delhi: Hughes Software Systems will become the first multinational corporation in India to use the book building route for an initial public offer. The public offer is slated later this year. The company plans to raise over Rs 300 crore from the issue.

The Indian subsidiary has obtained permission from its parent Hughes Network Systems, for the public offer. Hughes Software Systems plans to offload 26 per cent equity to the Indian public. The move will reduce the US parent's current holding from 76 per cent to less than 60 per cent.
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Hitachi to pick up stake in TCEC
Pune: Hitachi of Japan may be permitted by the Foreign Investments Promotion Board to pick up a 23 per cent stake in Telco Construction and Equipment Company.

Telco Construction Equipment Company manufactures hydraulic excavators and mechanical crawler cranes.
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Mastek to invest Rs 85 crore
Mumbai: Mastek says it will invest Rs 85 crore over the next three years to expand operations in software services. The investment is expected to boost the company's consolidated revenues -- including those in US, UK and Asia-Pacific subsidiaries.

Mastek is also planning a bonus issue. The company is putting up new software development centres at Seepz in Mumbai and Mhape in Navi Mumbai.
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Nestle too in fray for Tetley
London: Nestle may be in the race, along with Tata Tea and Sara Lee, for British tea and coffee maker Tetley, which is up for sale.

However, Business Standard, in a report quoting The Sunday Times of London, said Tetley has denied it has received any offers from Nestle.
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AOL in software war with Microsoft, Yahoo
Seattle: America Online is in a battle with Microsoft and Yahoo! Inc over a software that enables users to send instant messages to customers of AOL.

On 22 July, Microsoft and Yahoo launched free software that enabled AOL users to send instant messages to 40 million AOL customers as well as to members of their own instant messaging communities. AOL, charging that the two companies are making unauthorised incursions into the company's network, quickly blocked the rival software. However, Microsoft engineers worked to get over the hurdle.

Instant messages pop up immediately on the screen of the recipient, allowing users to carry on real-time conversations on the screen. The feature has become one of the most popular ways to communicate on the internet. AOL had paid $325 million for the competing ICQ service, which has an additional 38 million users.

Microsoft and Yahoo say they would like to see open standards that would allow different messaging systems to inter-operate, much like e-mail.
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Aerospatiale denies merger report
Frankfurt: France's Aerospatiale Matra described as baseless a report that it is planning to merge with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace to form the world's second biggest aerospace group. Dasa, a unit of DaimlerChrysler, which recently entered into a joint venture with Spanish aerospace company CASA, declined to comment on the report.
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