Dabur to raise up to $200mn
Mumbai: FMCG major, Dabur India plans to seek shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs929.55 crore ($200 million) through the issue of equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), global depository receipts (GDRs) or any other instruments.

The shareholders of the company would consider the special resolution by way of postal ballot, to raise funds from overseas or domestic markets through issue of securities, subject to necessary provisions and approvals, Dabur India said.

The issue of these financial instruments represents the sale of shares by existing shareholders of up to Rs929.55 crore ($200 million) in international or domestic offerings, it added.
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GE Shipping to seek court approval for extending demerger date
Mumbai: After the legal deadline lapsed on August 2 for demerging its offshore division, the Great Eastern Shipping Co now plans to apply to the Bombay High Court to extend the date for the demerger. The company said that the board at its meeting held yesterday decided to apply to the High Court seeking extension of the timeline for the effective date of the demerger scheme.

GE Shipping said it had called off a plan to spin off its offshore services business into a separate company (Great Offshore Ltd) due to the lapse of the legal deadline of August 2, prescribed by the Bombay High Court.

The company also said it would examine other possibilities for restructuring the business.
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Mid-Day to offload stake to investors
Mumbai: Mid-Day Multimedia is planning to sell some equity to investors, including foreign media firms and Indian financial institutions, to help raise funds for expansion, a top official said on Thursday. The company has drawn up a Rs350 crore plan to expand its flagship tabloid, Mid-Day, and its radio station to seven centres in two years said chief financial officer Manajit Ghoshal. He said he expected the expansion to boost Mid-Day's almost stagnant revenue to Rs500 crore in five years from about Rs100 crore now.

The company launched a Bangalore edition of Mid-Day in June and its radio station in July, this year. Till now the company ran its tabloid as well as its radio station in Mumbai.
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Crisil rates two initial public offerings as below average
Mumbai: Crisil has rated initial public offerings (IPOs) of Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd and Minar International Ltd as having `below average fundamentals'.

It has rated both the IPOs `2' on a scale of one to five.

Five points indicate strong fundamentals of the company, descending down to poor fundamentals for one point.

This is Crisil's the first rating of IPOs since it launched the service recently.

Shree Ashtavinayak has proposed a public issue of 33 lakh equity shares at a target price of Rs158 per share, Minar International is going in for an issue of 80 lakh equity shares at a target price of Rs170 per share.

For Shree Ashtavinayak, the grading reflects the successful track record of the management, which has created a name for itself in a short span of three years, and the fact that the company is a leading film producer and distributor in the Mumbai territory.

The grading is constrained by the risks inherent in the film industry and also because the company has a relatively short track record of proven performance and is highly dependent on the skills of its managing director and majority shareholder with a relatively under developed corporate governance system, the release said.

For Minar International, Crisil said the grading reflects the good track record of the promoter who has a cumulative experience of over 40 years in the textiles business and the strong growth prospects for export of made-up textiles from India to the US, which is expected to nearly double over the next five years.

Minar's grading is poor because of the company's high dependence on the skills of the promoter for business continuity, the lack of adequate experience in setting up or running large textile manufacturing facilities, the inexperienced second line of management and a challenging business environment post removal of quotas and other issues.
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Kotak Securities targets small-time retail investors with new scheme
Mumbai: Kotak Securities is offering small-time retail investors who have small investible surpluses as low as Rs5,000, a chance to invest in capital markets.

The new scheme labeled 'Auto Invest' is a unique product based on the Systematic Investment Planning (SIP) method of investing directly in stocks. It will aid retail investors by advising them on a set of `safe and slow moving' stocks to invest in. The product will open the doors of capital markets to potential investors who dread the risks involved. Investors can invest in shares through `Auto Invest' by transferring a fixed amount of money every month to the brokerage's Internet trading portal account (kotaksecurities.com). The fund manager at Kotak will invest money as per the investment portfolio created by the investor in close consultation with the brokerage's stock researchers.
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