EDS bids to acquire majority stake in MphasiS
Bangalore: The $19.8-billion information technology services company Electronic Data Systems Corp has said it would make an offer to acquire 52 per cent in Indian software services provider MphasiS BFL.
Earlier EDSv tried to acquire a 32 per cent stake in Barings India Investments but the deal fell through.

The US company will make a conditional open offer to acquire 83 million MphasiS shares at Rs204.50 (approximately $4.58) apiece amounting to a total purchase price of Rs1,672 crore ($380 million), pursuant to Indian securities regulations. The price represents a premium of approximately 30 per cent to the 26-week average price of the MphasiS scrip on the stock market. EDS said the offer depends upon the company acquiring 83 million shares. If these shares are not offered, EDS will not accept any share tendered.

Mphasis seems likely to accept the offer.

MphasiS had reported a top line of around Rs1,554 crore on a net of Rs113 crore for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2005. It has more than 12,000 employees on its rolls, including about 11,000 in India.
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Dr Reddy's introduces new anti-diarrhoea formulation
New Delhi: Dr Reddy's Laboratories has launched 'Z&D' - a formulation of zinc sulphate indicated as adjuvant therapy along with oral re-hydration solution for treatment of acute and persistent diarrhoea. The new formulation would be available in multiple dosages of 10 mg and 20 mg in dispersible orange flavoured tablets as well as in 10 mg per ml and 20 mg per ml dry syrup for paediatric use. The company said the product is intended to supplement the ORS market.

The company is in talks with the UNICEF for supplying Z&D, which met the WHO specifications. It has launched across India and would be available for prescription by mid April this year.
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Honda records 19 per cent sales growth in March '06
New Delhi: Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI's) sales grew by 19 per cent in March at 6,120 units. The company said that sales in the year ending March 31, 2006, stood at 42,727, a year-on-year growth of 14 per cent. This included 37,545 units of the 'City' sedan. The company said a total of 5,466 units of the City were sold in March while it sold 507 units of the luxury 'Accord' and 147 units of the SUV 'CR-V'.
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HCC bags large order from NHAI
Mumbai: Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has bagged an order worth Rs317.11 crore from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for laying four lane roads in Assam. The project, to be executed in 30 months involves laying four lanes on Mailbang to Nrimbanglo section of NH-54, the company said.
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Sujana Metal to bid for projects with Deepak Cables
Mumbai: Sujana Metal Products, a steel re-rolling and castings company, said it plans to collaborate with Bangalore-based Deepak Cables in bidding for large power transmission projects being put-up by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and various state transmission companies.

Sujana Metal will implement the country's largest single location Greenfield facility for galvanized steel towers for power and telecom transmission projects.
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JSW Steel offloads stake in JSW Energy
Mumbai: JSW Steel has divested its stake in JSW Energy Ltd (JSWEL) to Samarth Holdings, a part of the O P Jindal group for Rs513.69 crore. The company sold 14.44 crore-equity shares of JSWEL (formerly known as Jindal Thermal Power Company Ltd) to its group company.

The equity shares have been sold, pursuant to the agreement entered on March 31, based on an independent valuation of the equity shares of JSWEL, it said.
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Dolphin Offshore enters into MoU with NaftoGaz
Mumbai: Dolphin Offshore Enterprises India said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine company NaftoGaz to work jointly on engineering contracts related to the installation and commissioning of offshore platforms and pipelines.

NaftoGaz is also exploring the possibility of outsourcing to the company the supply of diving and other manpower and equipment requirements for its projects in the Black Sea and other parts of the world. The scope of the MoU also includes revamp or modification projects related to existing infrastructure as well, it added.
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Royal Orchid acquires majority stake in resorts company
Mumbai: Royal Orchid Hotels has acquired 51 per cent stake in Bangalore-based Maruti Comforts and Inn, a resort property, for Rs5.88 crore. The company has also entered into a lease agreement with Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a Karnataka government undertaking, for the management of 'Hotel Krishna Raja Sagar' situated near Mysore in Karnataka, it said.
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RIL in talks with global majors for tie ups with RPL
Mumbai: Reliance Industries is in talks with global energy majors for a strategic tie-up with Reliance Petroleum. There are rumours that US-based Chevron might pick up stake in RIL's upcoming Rs27,000 crore refinery in Gujarat.

RIL informed the BSE, that, "The company has been in discussions with them (several international industry majors) but no decision has been made in this regard. These discussions cover several proposals, including tie-up on te chnical support, supply of crude oil or raw material, purchase of finished goods." Some industry majors had also shown interest in picking up a minority equity stake in RPL either through fresh issue of equity shares by RPL or through sale of part of RPL equity shares held by the company, it said.

RIL is setting up the 29 million tonnes per annum refinery, located in Jamnagar special economic zone for exports and the company is said to be eyeing the multi-billion dollar high-octane gasoline market in the US.
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LNJ Bhilwara group plans thermal foray
New Delhi: The LNJ Bhilwara Group plans to foray into the thermal power sector and will set up greater number of hydroelectric plants as part of its business plan to expand total generation capacity to about 2,500 MW in 10 years from 450 MW now.

Company officials said the company plans to set up a 300-500 MW coal-based power plant. It has already applied for a coal block in Madhya Pradesh through group flagship HEG Ltd.

The company will take a final decision on the thermal power plant and its location after allocation of a coal block. The group has two hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh in joint venture with Norway-based S N Power, plans to set up more hydro projects in the state as well as neighbouring Uttaranchal.

The company is targeting to increase its generation capacity to 2,000-2,500 MW by 2015 from about 450 MW now.
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Triveni Engg. makes Rs.558-cr expansion plans
Mumbai: Sugar company Triveni Engineering and Industries plans to invest Rs558 crore in expanding the capacities of its existing plants and for setting up new facilities. The board has approved the capital expenditure of Rs558 crore for two new sugar units with a capacity of around 6,000 TCD each at Chandanpur and Rani Nagal in Uttar Pradesh and expansion of Ramkola Sugar Unit capacity from 3,500 TCD to 6,500 TCD, the company said.

The company would also set up additional co-generation facilities of 22 MW at Khatauli, a distillery of 160 kilo litres per day capacity and expand turbine manufacturing capacity and install a full speed vacuum balancing machine, it said.

The shareholders of the company are meeting on April 28 to approve financing of Rs550 crore through equity or equity linked instruments, which may be in the form GDR, FCCB, public issue or private placement of equity shares for the various capital projects planned for the financial year 2006-07 and for other business purposes. At the meeting shareholders would also consider approving the increase in the limit of investment by FIIs up to 49 per cent of the issued and paid-up capital of the company and increase the borrowing powers of the board by up to Rs18,00 crore.
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Helios & Matheson acquires controlling stake in US co.
Mumbai: IT company Helios & Matheson Information Technology has acquired a 43 per cent controlling stake in the US-based A Consulting Team Inc for $8.75 million in an all-cash deal. It has acquired 10.24 lakh fully diluted shares out of total outstanding 23.82 lakh equity shares in A Consulting Team Inc, the company informed the BSE. The cash deal has an additional earn-out component to the promoter, Shmuel BenTov, who continues to be a director on the board and president and CEO of the company, structured as a percentage of profits achieved over a two-year period ending March 2008.
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MRF setting up rubber manufacturing unit in Sri Lanka
Chennai: MRF Tyres is setting up a small plant in Sri Lanka for making rubber, a top MRF official said. The official did not reveal the investment details in the plant.

Philip Eapen, executive director-marketing said experimental production has already commenced at the new facility. He, however, did not provide the financial details.

Eapen said MRF had obtained most of the regulatory approvals for the production of helicopter tyres and was in the final stages of the approval process. He said the rubber industry was going through a critical phase, with the increase in raw material prices.

The tyre industry had never faced such a situation in the last 30 years he said. The increase in rubber prices was creating a strain on the bottom line for the company, he added.
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Usha Martin hikes steel prices
Mumbai: Usha Martin leading producer of speciality steel has hiked steel prices by Rs2,000 per tonne on its steel and value added products. The company has achieved a growth of 10 per cent in its steel production to over 323,000 tonnes and 28 per cent in its value added products such as wire and wire ropes to over 122,000 tonnes in the financial year 2005-06.

The company has manufacturing facilities in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hoshiarpur, UK, Thailand and UAE and a worldwide distribution, service and marketing network across the US, UK, Europe, Australia, Africa, Singapore and the Middle and Far East.
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Aditya Birla Nuvo gets Allahabad HC nod for merger with IGFL
Mumbai: Aditya Birla Nuvo's merger with Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd (IGFL) has been approved by the Allahabad High Court. Hence the scheme of amalgamation would be effective from today. The company has fixed April 19 as record date and accordingly, the shareholders of IGFL shall receive one equity share of Rs10 each in the company credited as fully paid-up for every three fully paid-up equity shares of Rs10 each held in IGFL.

The paid-up equity share capital of the company will increase from Rs59.89 crore to Rs74.92 crore, on issue of equity shares to IGFL shareholders.
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Mindteck India's subsidiary acquires stake in US co.
Mumbai: IT solutions provider Mindteck India's wholly owned subsidiary Mindteck USA Inc has acquired a stake in US-based software consulting company, ISS Consultants Inc, in an all-cash deal.

The company did not disclose the amount for the acquisition. The US-based company had revenues of $11.20 million and a net profit of $1.96 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.
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Ford achieves record 83 per cent rise in sales in March
New Delhi: Ford India's sales rose 83 per cent in March at 5,929 units. The company said that sales rose 86 per cent in the first quarter of the current year at 14,125 units against 7,607 units in the corresponding period last year.

The company's most recent offering in the Indian market the 'Fiesta', has received a good response in the Indian market and 15,000 units of the model were booked.
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GM India sales rise 16 per cent in March
New Delhi: General Motors India has recorded 16 per cent rise in sales in March 2006 at 4,070 units, which includes 1,395 units of the newly launched 'Chevrolet Aveo'. Sales of the Chevrolet brand, under which the company sells models such as 'Optra' and 'Tavera', increased 35 per cent in March. GM India sold 2,155 units of Tavera and 520 units of Optra in March.

Aveo, which was launched in March, is the first of three new Chevrolet products to be introduced in the first half of 2006. The company would launch 'Aveo U-VA' and Optra 'SRV' in the coming months.
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Hyundai sales up 26 per cent in March
New Delhi: Hyundai India has reported a 26.5 per cent rise in sales in March at 30,038 units, boosted by the eight per cent excise duty cut on small cars. The company said this was the highest-ever sales numbers recorded among all its factories outside Korea. Sales in the domestic market stood at 22,524 units and registered a growth of 37.5 per cent while exports grew 2.1 per cent at 7,514 units.

Sales of the 'Santro' stood at 16,838 units in the domestic market at a growth of 42 per cent. In the first quarter of 2006, the company's sales, including exports, grew 13.6 per cent at 68,653 units against 60,428 units.
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Skoda registers 46 per cent growth in March sales
New Delhi: Skoda Auto India's sales grew 46 per cent in March at 1,467 units. The company said that sales in March last year stood at 1,008 units. The company sold 92 units of luxury sedan Superb' last month.
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Eicher Motors sales rise 47 per cent in March
New Delhi: Eicher Motors has registered a 47 per cent jump in sales of commercial vehicle during the month of March as compared to the same month a year ago, while its sales for the year ended March 2006 was up by 3 per cent over the previous year.

The commercial vehicle sales stood at 3,102 units, including exports of 326 units, up 47 per cent.

Total sales for the year ended March 31, 2006 stood at 23,603 units, up 3 per cent over last year.
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TVS Motors to launch accessories for motorcycles
Kolkata: The Rs3000 crore TVS Motors Company has launched a series of accessories to go with its motorcycles under the brand name of its new premium segment motorcycle, Apache.

These products include helmets, jackets, gloves and goggles to back-up the Apache brand. The company hopes to garner 20 to 25 per cent market share in the premium segment with the new brand in the first year of sales.

TVS Motors said it is increasing emphasis on the premium segment due to the changing consumer preferences in the country for motor-cycles as style, design and manoeuvrability was taking precedence over such traditional aspects as mileage and maintenance costs.
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Maruti sales rise 15 per cent in March
New Delhi: Market leader Maruti Udyog (MUL) has reported a 15.7 per cent increase in total sales at 63,196 units in March. The company also witnessed a revival of demand for its entry level 'M800' model. The company's sales in March last year stood at 54,613 units and an eight per cent excise duty cut, helped perk up the demand by double digit.

The company registered total sales of 5, 61,822 units (including exports) in the year ended March 31, 2006, as against 5, 36,301 units in the previous fiscal, a growth of 4.8 per cent.

In March, the company sold a total of 61,141 vehicles in the domestic market, with its best-selling model 'Alto' clocking 17,908 units, 'WagonR' 10,843 units and 'Swift' 6,651 units.

The M800, which has been seeing falling sales following the rising popularity of the Alto, managed to sell 10,937 units (10,252) in the month at a growth of 6.7 per cent.

Exports during March, however, continued to slide as they fell 47 per cent at 2,055 units against 3,920 units in the corresponding year. In fact the company's exports have been on the negative for a long time and have dipped 28.9 per cent for the year ended March 31 at 34,784 units against 48,899 units.
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BHEL registers 70 per cent rise in net in FY'06
New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has announced a huge 70 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs1,621 crore in 2005-06 compared to Rs953 crore last fiscal.

According to BHEL CMD AK Puri: "The turnover of the company stood at Rs14,410 crore over Rs10,336 crore, representing a 39 per cent increase."

BHEL secured orders worth Rs9,008 crore in terms of power plant equipment amounting to 3,473 MW. Puri said that the "renewed thrust on renovation and modernisation, spare and services businesses resulted in booking orders worth Rs1,853 crore.

The earnings per share (EPS) has gone up to Rs66.20, up 70 per cent from Rs38.95 last year.
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Fiat offers VRS to 50 per cent staff at Kurla plant
Mumbai: Fiat India said it has accepted the voluntary retirement of more than 50 per cent of its employees at the plant which adds up to 711 employees out of a total of 1,270 employees a Fiat spokesperson said.

The company, however, has no plans to shutdown the Kurla unit and this is just a move to rightsize the unit and increase efficiencies, he added.
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HMT registers profit after 7 years
Ajmar: Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), has announced a profit of Rs41 lakh for the financial year ended March 31, 2006. The company registered a turnover of Rs32.74 crore and a profit after a gap of seven years, its general manager NS Verma said.
The company is all set to cross the current production target of Rs49 crore as it has already bagged orders worth Rs32 crore, he said.
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