Jagran Prakashan promoters not allowed to hike stake
Chennai: The promoter Group of media company Jagran Prakashan, has not been allowed to hike its stake in the company without making an open offer for acquiring additional shares from the public.

This follows a ruling by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on an application made by an investment company associated with the promoter Group, seeking exemption from the provisions of the Takeover Code in connection with the latter's proposal to acquire one to three per cent of shares in the company.

The proposed acquisition suffered from having come close on the heels of a public issue of shares by the company, according to the independent panel of experts constituted by SEBI to look into matters pertaining to the Takeover Code.

The Takeover Code imposes an obligation on an investor in the shares of a listed company, acquiring substantial chunks of such shares, to also acquire additional shares from the general public through an open offer. Where the investor in question already owns significant shares either directly or in combination with persons acting in concert with it, regulations require that even marginal acquisitions of shares trigger such an open offer.

Jagran Prakashan's shares closed at Rs330.10 at the NSE on Monday, down by Rs4.75 from the previous day (Friday)'s close of Rs334.85.
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Suven Life okays 1:1 bonus, stock split
Hyderabad: Suven Life Sciences' board of directors has recommended the issue of bonus shares at 1:1 ratio and also considered splitting of the Rs2 per share to Re1 per share, subject to necessary approvals. The company has reported a growth of 19 per cent for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 in both profit and revenue compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. While the sales stood at Rs32.25 crore (Rs27.11 crore), the net profit stood at Rs3.83 crore (Rs3.21 crore). The For the nine-month period, the company posted revenues of Rs85.85 crore, surpassing total revenues of the previous year at Rs83.01 crore. The net also grew by 35 per cent, up from Rs7.24 crore to Rs8.75 crore.

The company is into drug discovery for global pharma major and is focused on contract research and manufacturing services and drug discovery development support services.
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FIIs can trade says FM
New Delhi: The Finance ministry says that FIIs traders may not be treated solely as investors, as ruled by the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in the Fidelity case recently and could be treated as traders as well, depending on the facts of each case.

This ruling means that most FIIs need not pay any tax in India.
Traders have to pay 33.7 pc tax on their business income while investors are eligible to have their income treated as capital gains and pay 10 pc as tax, if the income is derived from sale of shares within a year of their purchase, or no tax at all, if the shares were held for at least a year before being sold.

FII traders' tax obligations are subject to provisions of the bilateral tax treaty applicable to them. As per most such tax treaties, FIIs are not obliged to pay tax on business income earned as traders, unless they have a permanent establishment in India. Most FIIs do not have a PE in India.

There has been some ambiguity in terms of the taxation of portfolio investors in India with one view being that they are traders in stocks and another view that they are investors in stocks.
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Abbott exempted from open offer
Coimbatore: SEBI has exempted Abbott Capital India Ltd the promoter of Abbott India Ltd (AIL), from making an open offer for the buyback of AIL shares. ACIL, which currently holds 61.70 per cent of AIL, proposes to buy back shares at Rs650 each. AIL had announced a plan to buy back shares from shareholders; the voting rights of the acquirer would have increased from 61.70 per cent to 65.14 per cent in case of 100 per cent response to the offer.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd filed an application in October 2006 with the SEBI on behalf of the target company and the acquirer, seeking exemption from the applicability of regulation 11(2) of the Takeover Regulations. In the application, it said the increase in the shareholding of the acquirer was incidental and not a proactive acquisition. The acquirer was already in control of the target company.
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SMS Pharma to float IPO: to raise Rs98 crore
Mumbai: SMS Pharmaceuticals is planning to float an IPO to raise around Rs98 crore in the upper end of the price band of Rs360-380 per share. The proceeds will part-finance setting up of a new facility to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in Andhra Pradesh.

On offer are 25.77 lakh equity shares forming about 25.77 per cent of the fully diluted post-issue paid up capital of the company. The issue opens for subscription on February 5 and closes on February 8.

At least 50 per cent of the net issue to the public shall be allotted on a proportionate basis to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Further, 15 per cent of the net issue shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to non-institutional bidders, while 35 per cent of the net issue to the public shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to retail bidders.
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Vijayeshwari Textiles plans Rs public issue
Mumbai: Vijayeshwari Textiles, engaged in the production of cotton yarn and textile made ups, proposes to raise Rs90 crore from the capital market with a public issue of shares of Rs10 each for cash at a premium to be decided through a 100 per cent book building process. The price band has been fixed between Rs115 and Rs130 per share.

Pre-issue, the promoters' shareholding stands at 84 per cent and is expected to go down to 48 per cent post-issue.

The proceeds will part finance the company's expansion in all its divisions, namely, spinning, weaving and processing. In the spinning segment, the company is adding 50,688 spindles (46,004 spindles), 80 looms (84 looms) in the weaving segment and the processing capabilities are being doubled to 30,000 metres per day from the current 15,000 metres per day. The company also proposes to take over a sewing facility with a capacity of 24,00,000 pieces per annum and is further setting up an additional capacity of 26,00,000 pieces per annum.
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