HOV Services to acquire US BPO unit for Rs600 crore
Mumbai: In one of the largest ever acquisitions in its category HOV Services (HOVS) a Pune-based business processing outsourcing company has agreed to acquire a US-based BPO Lason for $148 million (over Rs600 crore). Lason will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HOVS, said a statement from the latter. The two companies will have trailing annual revenues in excess of $ 200million and a global workforce of more than 11,000 employees. The two companies will work together to serve more than 4,000 active customers in the North American marketplace.

Officials in HOVS said the merger will enhance marketing, servicing and delivery footprints to clients worldwide through integration, realignment and cross-selling.

The company's clients will benefit from having delivery capability from over 49 locations located in the US, Canada, India, China, and Mexico delivering end-to-end integrated solutions, including document-centric applications, workflow management, finance and accounting, electronic publishing and knowledge processing services.

Under the merger agreement, HOVS' wholly owned subsidiary in the US will acquire 100 per cent of the outstanding equity securities of Lason for $148 million. To fund the acquisition HOVS raised $188 million of new capital from leading global institutions - $63 million in equity and a debt facility of $125 million.
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NTPC bids to acquire Globeleq's power plant in Egypt
New Delhi: NTPC is submitting a bid to acquire a 685.2-MW power project owned by British power investment firm Globeleq in Egypt. NTPC said it is submitting a non-binding bid to buy the Sidi Krir power project in Egypt through 100 per cent acquisition of Globeleq Maghreb, the company informed the BSE.

Globeleq's exit from the project is part of a global strategy to sell its assets worldwide. The UK unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is the adviser for the sale, NTPC said in the statement.

Besides NTPC, Tata Power Company Ltd and Reliance Energy Ltd are among the players that have expressed interest in buying some assets of Globeleq.
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Autoline acquires majority stake in Stokota
Pune: Auto component maker Autoline Industries has signed an agreement with special vehicle manufacturer Stokota NV to acquire 51 per cent stake in the latter's global operations for about Rs66.8 crore in cash and equity.

At present both companies are completing due diligence to execute the agreement over the next 90 days. The merger of Stokota NV (Belgium, France and Poland), Stokota China and Stokota India with Autoline will help form a conglomerate that will be a global leader in the manufacture of high-value, low cost automotive components and transport solutions.

Autoline officials said that the effect of the acquisition will be reflected in the 2007-08 fiscal, with the consolidated revenue from IAL operations and the acquisition touching Rs700 crore with a profit of Rs60 crore.

Autoline has five facilities in Pune and is a design engineering and manufacturing solutions provider focused on sheet metal assemblies and formed tubular products. The company came out with an IPO last month. Its stand-alone revenues this year are expected to be about Rs210 crore and Rs450 crore next year, with a net profit of Rs36 crore.

Stokota manufactures tippers, tipper trailers, cement bulkers, tankers for fuel, LPG, bitumen and chemicals amongst other special purpose vehicles and expects its top line this year and the next to be Rs400 crore and Rs490 crore, respectively.
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Ethypharm, Shantha Biotech tie up
Mumbai: Ethypharm India, a subsidiary of French drug-delivery company Ethypharm SA, has signed an out-licensing and supply agreement with Shantha Biotechnics for Ondansetron Flashtab, a medicine taken to prevent vomiting associated with chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

The products will be supplied from Ethypharm's manufacturing facility near Mumbai as packaged and finished dosage forms and will be marketed and distributed by Shantha Biotechnics. Ondansetron Flashtab is a useful form for patients who have difficulty with swallowing, and so provides an alternative to the conventional Ondansetron tablet, a note from the company said.
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NTPC to get Rs900 crore funding from US pension funds
Mumbai: India's largest power generator, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), is likely to raise around Rs900 crore from US-based pension funds in the next financial year to fund its capacity addition programme under the Eleventh Plan.

NTPC is planning to increase its generation capacity from 14,000 mw to 51,000 mw during the 11th Plan period and will need to raise Rs 1 lakh crore for its ambitious capex programme over the five-year period. As much as 30 per cent of this will be mopped up as equity while the rest will be debt.

NTPC officials said in the first phase of the financing programme the company would raise Rs9,000 crore - Rs4,500 crore from Asian Development Bank and the rest from other commercial institutions, including private placements with US pension funds.

The private placements are likely to take place in the next financial year and the exact amount has not been decided.

ADB has already sanctioned a Rs1,350 crore loan to NTPC.
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Teledata to set up chip manufacturing plant in South
Hyderabad: Teledata Informatics the Chennai-based software company, is planning to set up a chip manufacturing facility in south India though the exact location of the plant has not been fixed.

The company is currently holding discussions with the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in this regard.

The proposed facility would involve an investment of about Rs 300 crore.

The total business offshoring unit (TBO), being set up by Teledata and its subsidiary eSys Technologies in Chandigarh, would be operational by June, this year. TBO was a concept pioneered by eSys.

The Rs 90-crore facility, coming up in over six-acre land, would have a workforce of 500, which would be scaled up to 2,000. Teledata is targeting a turnover of about Rs 450 crore from the new facility during the first year of its operation.

Teledata recently acquired a 51 per cent stake in Singapore-headquartered eSys Technologies for $105 million. The company is also demerging its technology and marine divisions into two separate companies called Teledata Marine Solutions and Teledata Technology Solutions.
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