SEBI hits Holcim with Rs25-cr penalty
Mumbai: SEBI has imposed a penalty of Rs25 crore on Holcim (India) for not making an open offer to shareholders of Everest Industries Ltd (EIL), a subsidiary of Associated Cement Company (ACC), when the Swiss cement major Holcim acquired 34.71 per cent stake in ACC in 2005.

According to SEBI, Holcim has violated the provisions in the SEBI - Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers Regulation, (SAST)

The SEBI order said, Holcim has deliberately chosen not to seek an exemption from making an open offer to the shareholders of EIL. It said it was not a mere coincidence that the letter was dated July 26, 2005, i.e; the last date of by which the open offer is required to be made. The intention is clearly mischievous. If at all any doubt was in the mind of Holcim, they could have approached SEBI the order said.

Holcim had contented that acquisition of EIL is "as result of global arrangement, thus qualifying for exemption from making open offer."

However, SEBI has differed with Holcim on this, taking the view that the term "global arrangement" is not defined in SAST.
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Ashok Leyland to set up `commodity desk'
Chennai: Ashok Leyland will set up a `commodity desk', which will trade on the commodity exchanges if the company's board permits. The idea has been thought up by `strategic sourcing' and `finance' departments and developed in consultation with National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd and will now be taken to the board of the company.

Company officials said that at a time when commodity prices were rising, it was necessary to look at hedging options.

Ashok Leyland's interest in trading is in metals such as aluminium, copper, nickel, zinc and steel. Today, it is only the company vendors who buy these metals to manufacture components. The company buys steel, but only HR and CR coils, which are not traded on the commodity exchanges.
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United Breweries to pay addl dividend
Bangalore: United Breweries' board of directors at its meeting on Thursday has recommended payment of an additional dividend of 7.5 per cent on the equity share capital as on March 31, 2006. Including the interim dividend already paid at 15 per cent the total dividend outflow for the year ended March 31, 2006 will be 22.5 per cent post confirmation by the members at the annual general meeting to be held on September 19, 2006.
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Magma Leasing, Shrachi Infra merger ratio fixed at 1:3
Kolkata: Magma Leasing Ltd (Magma) and Shrachi Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL), both operating in the retail financing space with presence in east, north and south India, have decided to merge to create a new financial services powerhouse in the name of `Magma Shrachi Finance Ltd'.

As per the swap ratio worked out by Ernst & Young, which handled the entire valuation exercise and advisory services for both the promoters, one Magma share will be issued for three existing shares of SIFL. The transaction, to take effect from April 1, 2006, is subject to approval of shareholders, High Court, RBI, stock exchanges and other statutory and regulatory authorities, as applicable to both the companies.
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Zenotech to allot 20 lakh shares to Ranbaxy
Mumbai: Zenotech Laboratories plans to allot 20 lakh equity shares to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd on a preferential basis.
The board of directors at its meeting on Friday has approved the allotment of the equity shares of Rs10 each at a price (including premium) of Rs 100 per share, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The shares of the company closed at Rs 66.75, up 1.60 per cent at the BSE.
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Pantaloon Retail to raise Rs260-cr thru follow-on issue
Mumbai: Pantaloon Retail India proposes to raise up to Rs260 crore through a follow-on issue of shares. The company has also decided to issue 12.12 lakh warrants at a price of Rs 1,635 per warrant, aggregating Rs198.24 crore, to promoters and their associates with an option to the warrant holders to acquire the same number of shares within a period of 18 months. The board has also decided to divest up to 24 per cent of the company's stake in its subsidiaries to raise up to Rs500 crore.
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