Sun Pharma to acquire generic drugs maker Taro Pharma
Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries with its subsidiaries has signed an agreement to acquire generic drug maker Taro Pharmaceutical Industries in an all-cash deal worth $454 million. The deal values Taro's equity at $230 million, or $7.75 per share a 27 pc premium to its May 18, 2007 closing price of $6.10.

Sun Pharma in an official release to the BSE today said it would fund the acquisition with internal accruals and proceeds from its earlier $350 million FCCB.

Sun Pharma will also refinance $224 million in net debt of Taro. In addition, to provide immediate liquidity for Taro, the company will provide interim financing to the extent of $45 million, the release said.

Dilip Shanghvi, CMD of Sun Pharma said, "We intend to build on Taro's expertise in dermatology and pediatrics, alongwith specialty and generic pharmaceuticals, and over-the-counter products."

Taro has established subsidiaries, manufacturing bases and products across USA, Israel and Canada. Ninety percent of the company's sales come from North America. It has a strong franchise in dermatology and topical products, in addition to product baskets in cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric and anti-inflammatory therapeutic categories, the company said in a release.
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BOC India posts net profit of Rs44 crore for FY'07
Mumbai: Linde Group company BOC India, dealing in engineering and industrial gases, has announced a net profit of Rs44.60 crore for 2006-07.

The company's board of directors has recommended a dividend of 25 per cent for the fiscal, a release stated.

In the fiscal, the company reported a turnover of Rs496.58 crore while the profit before tax stood at Rs68.06 crore, including an extraordinary profit of Rs24.29 crore from sale of immovable property at Chennai.

This profit is after providing a one-time depreciation of Rs8.93 crore, the company stated.

The gas business of the company registered an 8.5 per cent growth in revenue during the year.

The merchant gas business fared well with the commissioning of the 855 tonnes per day ASU at Bellay by Bellary Oxygen Company Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company of BOC India.

However, technical problems at the Jamshedpur plant of the company adversely impacted turnover and profit. The plant has been shutdown for repairs, which is likely to impact the company performance in the current quarter, a release from the company said.
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Sandvik Asia expands Pune centre with Rs10 cr investment
Pune: Sandvik Asia, a wholly-owned unit of Swedish Sandvik Group has completed expanding its its design and development centre here with a total investment of Rs10 crore.

Post the expansion, Sandvik Asia, is now an independent engineering, procurement and construction company in materials handling.

The company said that the expanded centre, employing 130 people, is geared towards designing various machines and projects handling coal and iron ore in significantly large quantities.

The centre will cater to increased engineering demand from group companies in Europe and other parts of the world, a company release said.

The expanded facility is fully equipped to undertake diverse activities including concept design, basic design, detail engineering, structural calculations and design, 3-D modelling and electrical engineering, it added.
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Vodafone launches mass market handsets
New Delhi: Vodafone, which recently acquired GSM operator Hutch, has launched two low-cost handsets-- Vodafone 125 a black & white model and the Vodafone 225 a colour model--for the emerging markets, including India. The handsets are priced in the $25-$45 range (Rs1,015-Rs1,827) depending on the model and the local market conditions.

Targeted at the rural areas the handsets offer a range of services, specifically suited for the rural hinterland where mobile penetration is at its lowest.

China's ZTE Corporation is manufacturing the handsets, under an agreement signed between the two companies in December 2006.

Vodafone Egypt, Vodafone Romania and Vodacom (South Africa) will be the first countries to launch the two handsets in the next few weeks.
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TV18 may float JV with Viacom
New Delhi: The TV18 group is said to be entering into a general entertainment joint venture with US entertainment giant Viacom. The joint venture, in which the companies will hold a 50 pc stake each, is likely to be signed during the visit of Viacom CEO and president Phillipe P Dauman.

The JV is likely to invest about Rs500 crore and Viacom's popular music channel MTV in India is understood to be transferred to the joint venture, the sources said.

Viacom has channels like VH1 and Nickledeon in India while TV18 is one of India's major electronic media groups running business news channels and websites. Viacom also owns Country Music Television, Spike TV and more than 120 networks around the world. It is also one of the leading creators of programming and content having media platforms such as Paramount Pictures and Paramount Home Entertainment.
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NTPC to foray into wind power generation
New Delhi: State owned power major NTPC plans to foray into wind power with an investment of more than Rs1,200 crore. The company is looking at wind energy projects with a total capacity of 200-250 MW that would require an investment of over Rs1,200 crore.

The PSU has an installed capacity of more than 26,000 MW based entirely on coal or gas and has been looking to diversify into other energy sources. It is already working on hydroelectric projects and a few small biomass plants. The company is looking at various sites and the entire capacity could be set up in a single location. The company would be working with Asian Development Bank and may also rope in a private partner for the new venture.
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SAIL Q4 net up 72 per cent
New Delhi: Steel Authority of India has reported a 72 per cent jump in net profit for the fourth quarter of 2006-07 to Rs1,902 crore against Rs1,103 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. Turnover during January-March 2006-07 rose 14 per cent to Rs11,534 crore as against Rs10,102 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2005-06.

Sail posted a 55 per cent rise in net profit during 2006-07 to Rs6,202 crore as against Rs4,013 crore in the previous year. The full-year turnover grew 21 per cent to Rs39,189 crore from Rs32,280 crore in 2005-06, the company said.
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DoT gives additional pan-India spectrum to telcos
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom has finally started giving out additional spectrum to mobile operators. State owned BSNL has got 2 Mhz of additional spectrum across the country while Maxis controlled Aircel has got spectrum for launching services in Kolkata,.

Private cellular operators facing a spectrum crunch which makes the quality of service poor have been demanding additional radio frequency to support subscriber growth. Existing GSM players have demanded that they have the first right to 2G spectrum.

More spectrum will be released after the defence forces vacate the radio frequency. Defence is one of the largest consumers of spectrum. DoT is laying an optical fibre cable to shift defense forces' communication requirements from wireless to wireline.

This would enable defence forces to vacate nearly 45 Mhz of spectrum. However the forces have insisted that the DoT bear the entire cost of the optic fibre cable project. They have also said that spectrum will be vacated only after the cable project is complete.
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Ranbaxy can sell cholesterol drug in Canada
New Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories has received approval from Health Canada Therapeutic Products Directorate to manufacture and market its branded version of the cholesterol-lowering Pravastatin in the country.

The clearance is for 10mg, 20mg and 40mg Ran-Pravastatin tablets. The company says the product would be available by June to all classes of trade. The total annual market for Pravastatin in Canada is estimated at C$72.9 million.

The Canadian business operating since 2005 has been engaged in the sale and distribution of in-licensed generic products; it will henceforth focus on marketing Ranbaxy's own products.
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Lupin gets USFDA approval for anti-psychotic drug
Mumbai: Lupin has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Ziprasidone, an anti-psychotic drug in 20 mg, 40 mg and 60 mg strengths.

The company said Ziprasidone ANDA was its second approval in the CNS segment after its Sertraline ANDA. Ziprasidone is an anti-psychotic drug and is used for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The company filed ANDA on the earliest possible New Chemical Entity (NCE) date, which would ensure that there would be limited competition when the product goes generic, Lupin said in a release to the BSE.

Lupin's Ziprasidone capsules are the AB-rated generic, which are equivalent of Pfizer's Geodon capsules.
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Jindal Steel Q4 net up 34 per cent
Mumbai: Jindal Steel and Power has posted 34.58 per cent in net profit at Rs202.77 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2007, as compared to Rs150.66 crore for the same period last year. The total income (net of excise) grew 57.83 per cent to Rs1,074.05 crore for the quarter from Rs680.48 crore for the corresponding quarter a year ago. The board of directors at its meeting declared a 240 per cent final dividend of Rs12 on equity shares of Rs5 each. For the year ended March 2007, the company recorded a net profit of Rs702.99 crore as compared to Rs572.94 crore for the period under consideration last year. The total income (net of excise) increased to Rs3,548.78 crore for the year from Rs2,617.76 crore a year ago. The group has posted a net profit of Rs705.95 crore for the year ended March 2007, as against Rs582.93 crore for the previous year and total income (net of excise) increased to Rs3,548.80 crore from Rs2,617.64 crore for the period under consideration.
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POSCO port project gets environment clearance
Bhubaneswar: The central government has accorded environmental clearance to South Korean company captive minor port at Jatadhari mouth in Jagatsinghpur district.

The clearance has been issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for construction of the port which has been facing opposition from various quarters on environmental ground. Officials said Posco-India Ltd is free to start work on the port project.
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Satyam signs pact with Hawker Beechcraft
Mumbai: Satyam Computer Services has signed a multi-year, multi-disciplinary service agreement with British aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC).

Satyam will establish an offshore development centre with about 40 professionals dedicated to HBC projects, which it plans to increase to 100 within a year. It will also provide design, computer-aided engineering (CAE), analysis, product lifecycle management, and other services.
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