Suzlon acquires Belgian company for euro 465 million
Mumbai: Wind energy company Suzlon Energy is acquiring acquire Belgian company Hansen Transmissions International NV for euro 465 million (Rs2,511 crore) in an all-cash deal. The Belgian company is engaged in the business of design, development, manufacturing and supply of industrial and wind turbine generator gear boxes. The acquisition would be done by Suzlon's wholly owned subsidiary AE-Rotor Holding BV, Holland.

The signatories to the agreement are AE-Rotor with Allianz Capital Partners GMBH and its affiliates and Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, the sellers of the shares.
Suzlon Energy will get indirect 100 per cent ownership of Hansen Transmissions International NV, Belgium, along with its subsidiaries in the UK, Australia, Brazil, the US and South Africa.

Apart from approving the acquisition the board of directors have approved to provide a corporate guarantee to collaterally secure the financial assistance of euro 450 million together with interest, commission, charges, and on the financial assistance being granted by various lenders to AE-Rotor for the acquisition.

The Suzlon Energy stock closed on BSE today at Rs1,295.85, gaining Rs6.50 during the day's trading.

Tulsi R. Tanti, chairman and managing director, Suzlon Energy, said, "Although the company will be run as an independent business unit, the acquisition of Hansen will allow us to integrate gearbox technology into the total turbine solution enabling a more reliable and competitive product in the marketplace."

The financing of the transaction is being underwritten and syndicated by Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank AG and ICICI Bank. Yes Bank is the sole financial advisor, while Linklaters Oppenhoff & Radler, Cologne and Khaintan & Co is the legal counsel to Suzlon for this transaction.
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VisualSoft, Applabs, eSolutions merger plans fail
Hyderabad: The proposed merger of IT services company VisualSoft Technologies with Applabs Technologies, a software testing solutions provider, and eSolutions, has failed to materialise.

The companies have now decided to pursue their interests independently. As the amalgamation scheme was getting delayed in terms of obtaining approvals, the VisualSoft board felt that the merger would not be pursued further.

Sashi Reddi, chief executive officer of Applabs, and CEO of the combined entity, has resigned. The chief financial officer of VisualSoft, V. Krishnan said the delay in concluding the merger has led to the current situation. "However, we continue to hold the same guidance of Rs 150 crore of revenue and Rs 20 crore in profitability on a standalone basis," he said.

On Friday, the scrip ended lower at Rs139.45, down 22.20 per cent over the previous close at the NSE.
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NTPC to bid for gas blocks under NELP-VI
New Delhi: Having successfully bagged its first oil and gas block in the fifth round of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy, NTPC is going ahead its diversification into the oil and gas exploration business with aggressive plans to bid for more acreage in domestic blocks under the recently announced sixth round of bidding under NELP-VI.

NTPC plans to bid for gas blocks in the sixth round of NELP to take forward its gas exploration plans, Government officials said. It is also working towards getting into various elements of the LNG value chain in the medium to long term. This includes possible participation in gas liquefaction and regassification terminals and LNG shipping through the joint venture route, Government officials said.

NTPC which bagged its first oil and gas block during the last round of bidding (NELP-V), is planning an initial investment of $11 million for developing this block, officials involved in the exercise.
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Aditya Birla to set up wood pulp plant in Laos
Mumbai: The Aditya Birla group will invest $350 million (Rs1,550 crore) in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) for setting up of a project to raise pulp wood species plantations and a pulp plant for its viscose staple fibre business.

Grasim Industries, Thai Rayon Public and PT Indo Bharat Rayon of Indonesia, which are all companies within the Aditya Birla Group, will invest in this project as equity holders.

The Group has secured 50,000 hectares of land from the Government of Laos on lease for a 75-year period and would raise eucalyptus plantations on the land to provide the feed for the pulp plant. The project will be implemented in two phases, the plantation phase and then the setting up of the dissolving pulp plant.

The commissioning of the pulp plant would coincide with the harvest of the first plantation — the seventh year. The pulp produced in Laos would be exported to the group's rayon fibre manufacturing units in India, Thailand and Indonesia as well as newer locations.
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Big expansion in CDMA lines on cards
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has floated a big tender for procuring wireless equipment based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology for supporting 2.5 million lines.

The new tender opening April 25 is for the latest in CDMA technology called Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO) and has been deployed by private CDMA-based operators Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices. It offers one of the fastest, fully mobile wireless Internet data solutions on the market. This will enable users to download complex files and view e-mail attachments at typical speeds of 300-500 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps.

Major vendors of the technology include Lucent, Nortel, Motorola, Ericsson and ZTE who are expected to bid for the project in association with an Indian partner.

Though BSNL is largely present in the GSM segment for its pan Indian cellular service coverage, it is using CDMA to offer wireless in local loop (WLL) based telephone services especially in areas where it is difficult to reach fixed wire-line. For instance, WLL is being used in a big way by BSNL to roll out services in villages.
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Asia may become bigger revenue earner than US for ICI's paint biz
Kolkata: As Asian countries register scorching growth, British chemicals company ICI Plc feels that the US would soon lose its number one position in its global paints business.

Ms Nicki Barton, global marketing manager, ICI, UK, said even though the US contributes approximately 40 per cent of ICI Plc's total paint business at present, the US market is stagnant and is not growing.

She said in Asian countries like China, India, Vietnam and Malaysia, ICI Paints is recording phenomenal growth every year and if these countries continue in this way, and if America remains as stagnant as it is now, Asia would soon become the largest revenue earner from ICI Plc's global paint business.

Currently, China and India contribute only 10 and 5 per cent respectively to ICI Paint's total global business. In Asia, China is the biggest market for ICI.

The size of the organised paint market in India is Rs6,000 crore. Out of this, 20-25 per cent is the premium segment of which, ICI India's share is 20-25 per cent.
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Viagra, D-Cold under scrutiny
New Delhi: Drugs like Nimesulide (Nise, Nimulid), Phenylpropanalamine (D-Cold) and Cidenafil (Viagra) have been put under the government's Pharmacovigilance Programme, which will analyse and assess the risk factors in using these medicines.

This does not mean the drug will be banned said official sources. They said the programme is an initiative to collect scientific data by various centres and medical colleges. The data may be used for making regulatory decisions, regarding marketing of drugs for ensuring public health and safety, official sources told ToI. The other drugs which are under the scanner include Cisapride (Ciza) and Rosuvastatin.

Nimesulide and Phenylpropanalamine (used in D Cold, Vicks Action 500) are banned in many countries abroad. In India the government has notified that Nimesulide drops are not safe for use in children. Phenylpropanalamine, used in various cough and cold, and believed to have caused brain haemorrhage, is still sold here as there have been no cases reported for any adverse impact till now.
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