Unilever formalises plan to acquire Rossell
Mumbai: Hindustan Lever’s parent Unilever is acquiring a controlling 65 per cent holding in tea company Rossell Industries in a Rs 175-crore buy-out. The $47 billion British consumer products giant is also making a public offer to buy the remaining 34.97 per cent holding in the company. Unilever is offering Rs 173 per share. While Jokai Tea Holdings of the UK, with its  36.56 per cent equity in Rossell Industries, will receive Rs 64 crore in an all-cash offshore deal, Y.K. Modi and associates, holding 28.47 per cent of the company, will get Rs 49.83 crore.

Hindustan Lever, acting on behalf of parent Unilever, issued a press statement announcing the deal and saying any share offer by the public in excess of 74 per cent of the total holdings will be paid for by it.

Rossell Industries has seven tea gardens in Assam, which will now come under Unilever, taking the total number of gardens in its possession  to 27. Nearly 20 per cent of Rossell's  tea production is exported. The company also has interests in telecommunications and finance.
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Mercedes Benz India reports losses to BIFR
New Delhi: Mercedes Benz India has informed the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction that its accumulated losses have mounted to Rs 336 crore, exceeding the stipulated 50 per cent of its equity capital of Rs 600 crore. Under the provisions of the Sick Industrial Companies Act, this means that the company is "potentially sick". The company has explained the reasons for the accumulated losses as longer gestation period in the luxury car segment, higher start-up costs, underdeveloped market, and financial support to vendors, among others.

Company officials maintained that the company has not become a sick industrial unit. It has taken several steps for a turnaround and these have started showing results. The company had a net profit of Rs 2.60 crore in the financial year ended on 31 March 1999 on a turnover of Rs 200 crore.
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Govt not to dilute stake in Maruti
New Delhi: The government has no proposal to dilute its holding in Maruti Udyog in favour of partner Suzuki Motor Corporation, according to heavy industries and public enterprises minister Manohar Joshi.  Mr Joshi was speaking at a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Echoing Mr Joshi’s views, O. Suzuki, president and chief executive officer of Suzuki Motor Corporation, who is on a whirlwind visit of India, said the Japanese car major is not negotiating with the government for any additional stake in the company. Mr Suzuki also said Maruti Udyog will launch new cars. The company has invested nearly Rs 1,200 crore in bringing out three new models recently.
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Wagon R launch shortly
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog is launching its 1.1-litre Wagon R shortly and the vehicle will be priced around Rs 3.75 to 4.25 lakh. The company aims to sell 50,000 to 60,000 vehicles in the first year of its launch. The 16-valve Wagon R will be available in three petrol variations.
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Himachal Futuristic to buy Essar Commvision
Mumbai: Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd is close to acquiring a controlling interest in Essar Commvision, which holds the licence for basic telecom service for the Punjab circle. The Ruias of the Essar group at present hold nearly 90 per cent of equity in Essar Commvision. Himachal Futuristic will have to bring in fresh investments to acquire the holding as the lock-in clause prevents the Ruias from disinvesting in the company.
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Pepsi plans Kerala plant
Thiruvananthapuram: Pepsi is setting up a Rs 100-crore bottling unit near Palghat in Kerala. The proposed plant will have a capacity of 60 bottles per minute. The Kerala market is now serviced from a plant in Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
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Indian Oil in talks with ONGC for crude supply
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation is planning to finalise an arrangement with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation under which the entire output of ONGC will be used by it. Indianoil is in talks with ONGC in this regard.

Indianoil has a refining capacity of 32 million tonnes per annum, which is likely to go up to 88 million tpa by the end of the tenth plan period.
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RPG Netcom, Satyam Infoway forms JV
Calcutta: RPG Netcom and Satyam Infoway are joining hands to offer Internet services over cable networks in Calcutta. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture, RPG.com.

Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of RPG group, said the joint venture will offer Internet access through cable television infrastructure and create a Bengal portal to provide local content. The proposed company will have a paid-up capital of Rs 20 crore with a 50:50 equity participation by the two partners. RPG Netcom has some 70 per cent share of the cable TV market in Calcutta.
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Global Green buys VST unit
Mumbai: Thapar group Global Green Company has acquired VST Natural Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of cigarette major VST Industries for Rs 20 crore. VST Natural Products is engaged in making bottled products like pickles, vegetables and spices. The sale results from VST Industries’ strategy to focus on its core activity, which is cigarettes.
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Hikal buys Novartis plant
Mumbai: Hikal Chemical Industries is acquiring the crop protection unit of Novartis India. The unit, situated at Panoli in Gujarat, will continue to make its products and supply them to Novartis. Hikal said it will absorb all the employees of the unit. The company is already involved in contract manufacturing for multinationals. The value of the transaction is not known.
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VSNL plans equity investment abroad
Mumbai: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is considering picking up equity in Tanzania Telecom, Tanzania’s national telecom provider. Later, VSNL will consider similar overseas investments in other national telecom companies.

The Indian international telecom carrier is also introducing Internet service in India through cable networks. The service will initially be available in Mumbai, for which it has tied up with leading cable service providers in the city -- Siti Cable, InCablenet, Hathway Cable, and Datacom.
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AOL acquires map company
New York: America Online says it is buying MapQuest.com, an online map company, for $1.1 billion, in an all-stock deal. The acquisition is expected to help AOL users to have access to web-based maps, directions and traffic updates.
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Vodafone not to change offer
Frankfurt: Vodafone AirTouch has decided to keep the basic terms of its takeover offer for Mannesmann as the acquisition bid enters its decisive phase. Vodafone's bid, valued at around 131 billion euros, will give Mannesmann shareholders about 47 per cent of the unified company's equity.
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